ABSTRACT
Psychologists need little convincing that B. F. Skinner’s ideas have played a seminal role in the development of psychological explanation in the 20th century. So secure is his place in the psychological firmament that his work is unhesitatingly discussed within the framework of theory as diverse as that of behavioral biology (Robinson & Woodward, 1989) and social psychology. The widespread applicability of the questions he raises is a clue to the fact that Skinner’s thinking is fundamentally epistemological. As early as 1953 in Science and Human Behavior Skinner was concerned with the predictability of behavior and the issue of whether human beings can freely choose various courses of action. Consequently, one of the core issues with which Skinner was concerned was how we come to know what we know. In one sense, which hopefully becomes apparent as this chapter unfolds, most of the questions he raises and attempts to answer are epistemological to a greater degree than almost any other psychological theorist of this century. It is this epistemological bent that makes Skinner’s work so important to every area of psychology.
