June 14, 2016

June 14, 2016

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader,

When I read “Epistemological Barriers to Radical Behaviorism” by Donohue, Callaghan & Ruckstuhl (1998), I was immediately inclined to change this title it into Epistemological Barriers to Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB). It starts with “The historian and philosopher of science Gaston Bachelard proposed the concept of epistemological barriers to describe the intellectual challenges encountered by scientists in their work.” I think that “epistemological barriers” are overrated.

The “intellectual challenges encountered by scientists in their work” are NOT “epistemological barriers”, but are ways in which private and public speech, their verbal behavior, has been conditioned. I don’t think scientists must “overcome barriers or obstacles posed by their prior views.” As their views describe how they speak, I insist they must acquire a new way of talking.

The way of talking which contains and maintains these so-called “epistemological barriers” is Noxious Verbal Behavior (NVB), but the kind of talking that dissolves these “epistemological barriers” is called Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB). Thus, “The intellectual journeys students pursuing advanced studies face when attempting to accept cognitive psychology or radical behaviorism” are determined by how their teachers speak to them.

The SVB/NVB distinction brings our attention to the fact that “epistemological barriers” are, of course, always a function of how we talk about matters. It is NOT whether “folk psychological beliefs that students typically hold when entering these studies pose less challenge to cognitive psychology than to radical behaviorism”, what really matters here is whether what is taught is taught by means of SVB or by NVB!

As long as what is taught continues to be taught as it has always been taught, by means of NVB, students will be more inclined to accept cognitive psychology than radical behaviorism. In other words, NVB has always paved the way for more explanatory fictions, while SVB is indispensable for an environmental, scientific account of behavior. Radical behaviorism has remained small due to NVB, but will reach millions with SVB.