Some more similarities between Peirce and Skinner.
Skinner’s radical behaviorism is pragmatism in a lab coat—use that fact to defend your science.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Moxley (2002) compared the writings of two thinkers: philosopher Charles Peirce and behaviorist B. F. Skinner.
The author read both men’s original texts and showed how their core ideas line up.
No experiment was run; the paper is a close, side-by-side look at their words.
What they found
Peirce’s pragmatism and Skinner’s radical behaviorism share the same rules.
Both say meaning comes from action, not from hidden mind stuff.
Knowing this shared root helps you explain why behavior analysis is a science, not a belief.
How this fits with other research
Glasberg (2000) gives the wider map. That review lists many ways radical behaviorism differs from mentalism; Moxley (2002) zooms in on one deep, historical source—Peirce.
Petursdottir et al. (2017) and Bao et al. (2017) count hundreds of studies that use Skinner’s verbal operants. Their numbers show the field is busy testing Skinner’s ideas; Moxley (2002) gives you the philosophical license to say those ideas are solid.
Esch et al. (2017) celebrates Skinner’s Verbal Behavior 60 years later. Reading the two together, you see both the birthday party and the family tree that justifies the party.
Why it matters
Next time a teacher asks, “Why don’t you look inside the child’s mind?” you can answer, “Our science follows Peirce—truth is what works in action.” The lineage gives you a quick, respectable reply that keeps the talk on data, not guesswork.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
C. S. Peirce is noted for pioneering a variety of views, and the case is made here for the similarities and parallels between his views and B. F. Skinner's radical behaviorism. In addition to parallels previously noted, these similarities include an advancement of experimental science, a behavioral psychology, a shift from nominalism to realism, an opposition to positivism, a selectionist account for strengthening behavior, the importance of a community of selves, a recursive approach to method, and the probabilistic nature of truth. Questions are raised as to the extent to which Skinner's radical behaviorism, as distinguished from his S-R positivism, may be seen as an extension of Peirce's pragmatism.
The Behavior analyst, 2002 · doi:10.1007/BF03392058