Interlocutions between the philosophies of Skinner and Maturana in the study of behavior

• Grant number: 13/09487-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: April 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Fundamentals and Assessments in Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Helena Leite Hunziker
• Grantee: Fabiana Meirelles Almeida Costa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The dialog between the behavior analysis and the neurosciences arises as an important issue in contemporary scientific debate, since the interlocution of these sciences can contribute to the constitution of a field of more complete knowledge. The possibility/convenience of this dialog is controversial, being rejected by some behavior analysts who support the proposal of Skinner that the explanation of the behavior should be guided by terms, laws and concepts derived from its own behavioral dynamic. However, some authors have analyzed that this assertion is being considered outside of the global context of Skinner's work, that is because in the course of his writings on the theme, he argued that physiological data can complement the behavior analysis, since their use is grounded in empirical bases and not on inferences. This project aims to analyze compatibilities and/or conflicts between two philosophical propositions directed to the study of behavior, one related to the behavior analysis and another to the neurosciences, noting the possibility of dialog between them. For both, will be analyzed texts of Skinner (representative of the behavior analysis) and Maturana (representative of neurosciences) directed to this issue. The research should be accomplished in three stages: (1) Analysis of Skinner's texts; (2) Analysis of Maturana´s texts; (3) Discussion on the possibility of dialogs between the sciences stemming from the philosophies of both. (AU)