In the traditional view, a person is free. He is autonomous in the sense that his behavior is uncaused. He can therefore be held responsible for what he does and justly punished if he offends. That view, together with its associated practices, must be re-examined when a scientific analysis reveals unsuspected controlling relations between behavior and environment.
B. F. SkinnerThe simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior - verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious process responsible for behavior but the very behavior itself in all the complexity of its controlling relations.
B. F. SkinnerIf freedom is a requisite for human happiness, then all thatโs necessary is to provide the illusion of freedom.
B. F. SkinnerThe evolution of cultures appears to follow the pattern of the evolution of species. The many different forms of culture which arise correspond to the "mutations" of genetic theory. Some forms prove to be effective under prevailing circumstances and others not, and the perpetuation of the culture is determined accordingly.
B. F. SkinnerGoing out of style isn't a natural process, but a manipulated change which destroys the beauty of last year's dress in order to make it worthless.
B. F. Skinner