Wad Ever

Neobehaviorism

Logical Positivism, Operationalism, and Physicalism
• Positivism
o Recall Comte's radical empiricism
 Can only understand the world by avoiding metaphysical explanations
o Ernst Mach emphasized the importance of the observer's perceptions in science
 But, he too argued that one must not go beyond one's observations
o Both Comte and Mach argued for data collection only (like Bacon) and the avoidance of theory
• Logical Positivism
o Comte's and Mach's position was hard to hold in light of physical concepts like gravity, electricity, and other forces
o Logical positivism provided a way out by postulating:
 empirical science
 theoretical science
o The science of science (S.S. Stevens)
o Logical positivism became the lingua franca of neobehaviorism
• Operationism
o Percy W. Bridgman's Logic of Modern Physics was extremely influential in promoting...