TimS comments on [SEQ RERUN] The Comedy of Behaviorism - Less Wrong

0 Post author: MinibearRex 20 July 2012 04:10AM

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Comment author: TimS 20 July 2012 01:48:50PM *  0 points [-]

This old post conflicts with the recent post on The Power of Positive Reinforcement.

I wonder if EY2012 still endorses this analysis from EY2008?

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 20 July 2012 05:26:50PM *  1 point [-]

Where exactly is the conflict?

I guess EY was not trying to say "Behaviorism bad" in one article, and "Behaviorism good" in another; but rather that in some places the behaviorist map is very useful, and in some places the (older version of) map is pretty funny.

Comment author: HumanFlesh 22 July 2012 09:39:31PM 0 points [-]

Behavioral science and cognitive science had a turf war over control of psychology departments in the mid-twentieth century. We like to recite the criticisms that became tropes in that war in order to pat ourselves on the back.

Comment author: TimS 20 July 2012 07:33:21PM 0 points [-]

I read the 2008 article as saying that a "map" of human psychology that does not including meaningful reference to internal mental states will be accurate enough to be useful only by coincidence.

Behaviorism does not include meaningful reference to internal mental states, yet the second article says that it can be a useful map.