Prolegomena to Any Future Philosophy of Behavior Analysis as a Science

Abstract

This tribute to Howard Rachlin speculates about scholarly work that might have been. It explores how behavioral data might bear on philosophical issues, with examples that might be called case studies in experimental philosophy. In 1964, an issue of the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society served a similar function. It was entitled “Psychology: A Behavioral Interpretation”; the papers included “Will,” “Experience,” “Appetite,” “Humors,” “Anxiety,” and “Man.” This presentation imagines what a contemporary project devoted to philosophical and behavior analytic perspectives on the topics of causation, freedom and volition, good and evil, time, words, and mind might have looked like. Along the way it notes how the project would have benefitted from Howard Rachlin's seminal contributions to both behavior analysis and philosophy. If ever such a project comes to pass, it will inevitably bear the stamp of his contributions.