Resumen

FLORES, Eileen Pfeiffer; BATISTA, Miguel Vieira; FAGG, Juliana  y  CAVALCANTI, Hugo Oliveira Figueiredo. B.F. Skinner and modernity: Notes from a comparison with M. Foucault. Acta comport. [online]. 2012, vol.20, n.2, pp. 185-199. ISSN 0188-8145.

The purpose of this study is to discuss where the work of BF Skinner stands on several categories of modern philosophical and epistemological thought, on the basis of a comparison with the thought of Michel Foucault. We analyze the positions of Skinner on four points characteristic of modern thought and compare them with those of Foucault: (1) the construction of theoretical systems or "theories of everything": here Skinner is described as a systematic thinker, creator of an important philosophical system (Radical Behaviorism) and its empirical branch, behavior analysis, while Foucault is described as anti-systematic. However, it is argued that the systematic nature of Skinner's theorizing does not automatically lead to the acceptance of unfounded generalizations, which he clearly rejected and which are incompatible with the fundamental principle of functional analysis. We also argue that the construction of theoretical systems, although characteristic of modernism, does not automatically lead to alignment with other postulates of modern thought. (2) Skinner, from inside his system, and Foucault, who actively avoided the construction of grand theoretical edifices, both presented radical criticisms of historicism, the latter in favor of circumscribed analyses and the former in favor of selectionist thinking, although Skinner's writings are contradictory when he approaches the history of science. (3) Both vehemently criticized the modern notion of Autonomous Subject as well as (4) universal categories such as "human nature" or "creative liberty". It is argued that the arguments of the two authors are different but complementary. Continued dialogue between the two lines of thought is suggested.

Palabras clave : B. F. Skinner; Michel Foucault; modernity; radical behaviorism.

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