Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences

To say that a man is sinful because he sins is to give an operational definition of sin. To say that he sins because he is sinful is to trace his behavior to a supposed inner trait. But whether or not a person engages in the kind of behavior called sinful depends upon circumstances which are not mentioned in either question. The sin assigned as an inner possession (the sin a person "knows") is to be found in a history of reinforcement.

To require a citizen to sign a loyalty oath is to destroy some of the loyalty he could otherwise claim, since any subsequent loyal behavior may then be attributed to the oath.

The juvenile delinquent does not feel his disturbed personality. The intelligent man does not feel his intelligence or the introvert his introversion.

Was putting a man on the moon actually easier than improving education in our public schools?

Those who have had anything useful to say have said it far too often, and those who have had nothing to say have been no more reticent.

A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.