Watson's positivism
materialist or phenomenalist?
pp. 83-102
Abstrakt
It is a commonly held opinion that John B. Watson's behaviorism was a species of philosophical materialism. Edna Heidbreder, for instance, spoke of it as "flaunting" a materialism that was "after all a very ancient philosophy" (1933, p. 138). The popular philosopher C. E. M. Joad (1948) saw it as a form of "modern materialism," modern apparently only because it occurred in the 20th century. So far as I know, this understanding has never been seriously challenged.1
Publication details
Published in:
Tolman Charles W. (1992) Positivism in psychology: historical and contemporary problems. Dordrecht, Springer.
Seiten: 83-102
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-4402-8_8
Referenz:
Tolman Charles W. (1992) „Watson's positivism: materialist or phenomenalist?“, In: C. W. Tolman (ed.), Positivism in psychology, Dordrecht, Springer, 83–102.