From Mach to Skinner: Science as a radical behaviorist understands it

Abstract

There are two basic objectives of this paper: (a) to analyze the legacy of crucial assumptions of philosophy of science set forth by E. Mach and adopted by BF Skinner in his radical behaviorism to characterize science in general, and (b) to describe and typify professional activities, academics and intellectuals of the behavior analyst from the behaviorist concept of science. To carry out such commitments, the text takes into account the historical consolidation path of behaviorism, some of the main criticisms made against its assumptions, the criteria of classification as a class of scientific behaviors found in Skinner's work, and the implications of these aspects for the debate concerning the concept of science in a broader range of scientific disciplines.