B.F. Skinner
B.F. Skinner was an influential American psychologist and behaviorist, renowned for pioneering the theory of operant conditioning. Born in 1904, Skinner's work focused on the systematic study of observable behavior, utilizing experiments with animals to develop his theories. His books, such as "Walden Two" and "Beyond Freedom and Dignity," explored human behavior and social organization, leaving an enduring impact on psychology and education.
Book summaries for books written by B.F. Skinner
Quotes
We do not strive for happiness, we strive for competence.
A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave.
The real issue is not whether machines think but whether men do.
We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right.
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
The self is more or less an illusion; it is not a thing, but a process.
The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes.
What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.
The highest problem of any art is to cause by appearance the illusion of a higher reality.
When a man is warmed by the several modes which I have described, what does he want next? Surely not more warmth of the same kind, as more and richer food, larger and more splendid houses, finer and more abundant clothing, more numerous, incessant, and hotter fires.
The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.
The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise.