B. F. Skinner Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“When you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.”

“Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.”

“Properly used, positive reinforcement is extremely powerful.”

“The environment shapes people's actions.”

“I won't say that I'm an agnostic, since agnosticism maintains that one cannot know... but I'm not averse to the idea of some intelligence or some organizing force that set up the initial conditions of the universe in such a way that ultimately generated stars, planets and life.”

“If you insist that individual rights are the summum bonum, then the whole structure of society falls down.”

“The consequences of an act affect the probability of its occurring again.”

“We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.”

“I don't deny the importance of genetics. However, the fact that I might be altruistic isn't because I have a gene for altruism; the fact that I do something for my children at some cost to myself comes from a history that has operated on me.”

“The feeling of being interested can act as a kind of neurological signal, directing us to fruitful areas of inquiry.”