From: GARAVELLI@NBRF.GEORGETOWN.EDU
Newsgroups: bionet.info-theory
Subject: Washington Philosophical Society --- 2004th Meeting
Date: 11 Dec 92 16:58:10 GMT
Distribution: bionet


                    The Philosophical Society of Washington
                                  Founded 1871

                                 2004th Meeting
                     Friday, December 18, 1992, at 8:15 pm

                   John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club
                     (Entrance at 2170 Florida Avenue, NW)

                                 Teed Rockwell
                                  Philosopher

                       Beyond Determinism and Indignity:
                  A Reinterpretation of Operant Conditioning

B. F. Skinner was an active and articulate philosopher for many years.  His
influential book "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" and his acknowledged greatness
as a pioneer in developing behaviorist laboratory techniques have fostered the
assumption that his philosophy and his psychology are a package deal; i.e.,
that his philosophy derives from, and explains, his laboratory data, and that
the data provide strong evidence for his philosophy.  But this is not true. 
Behaviorist research does not provide proof of a deterministic universe.  On
the contrary, it provides the strongest inductive evidence we have for the
existence of free will.  I will cite Skinner's own writings on scientific
method as support for the existence of freedom, not only in humans, but in rats
and pigeons as well.  Reasons that Skinner misinterpreted his own data base are
also suggested.  These include his apparent inability to tell a fact from a
presupposition, and his definition of free will derived from Hume which renders
that concept magical and incoherent.  I propose a new definition of freedom
that is comprehensible in behaviorist terms and which fits our common sense
experience of ourselves more accurately than does the straw ghost that Skinner
labels "Autonomous Man."  With this new definition of freedom, it is no longer
necessary to go beyond freedom and dignity for society to reap the benefits of
behavior modification technology.

Teed Rockwell is a musician by profession, performing with the world folk
chamber trio Geist, whose recordings of original music have received extensive
national distribution, as well as radio and television airplay.  He studied
Philosophy of Science with Wilfrid Sellars and has a Master's Degree in
Philosophy from Duquesne University, with additional post-graduate work in
philosophy at the University of Texas.  He has published papers in several
prominent journals, and presented papers at a variety of conferences, including
a recent National Convention of the American Philosophical Association.

Next Meeting: January 8, 1993 -  Willard Grant, Retiring President's Address,
              "The Square Root of Minus One and Other Mathematical Oddities."

    Willard Grant             Eloise Moore Agger            Mary Enig         
      President                  Program Chair           Membership Chair     
(202) 362-9708 (evening)        (301) 652-7325       (301) 572-4914 (evening)

Network inquiries to:  John S. Garavelli
                       GARAVELLI@GUNBRF.BITNET
                       GARAVELLI@NBRF.GEORGETOWN.EDU

                    Non-members are welcome at all meetings
                          Appropriate Attire Required

Notice:  Parking at the Cosmos Club is limited to members of the Club and their
guests.  The Cosmos Club is within easy walking distance of the Dupont Metro
stop (Q Street exit), the Connecticut Avenue bus routes (L2, L4), and the
Massachusetts Avenue bus routes (N2, N4).

                    The Philosophical Society of Washington
                     First Half 1992-1993 Season Schedule

September 11	Susumu Sato, National Institutes of Health
		Application of the Superconducting Quantum Interference
		Device (SQUID) Magnetometer in Biomedical Research

October 2	Ayub Ommaya, Neurosurgon
		I Feel Therefore I Am: The Biology of Emotion

October 23	Virginia Trimble, University of Maryland
		The Universe You Don't See:
		The Existence and Nature of Dark Matter

November 6	Colin Cox, Johns Hopkins University
		X Marks the Spot:  Hubble Telescope Research

November 20	Fernand D. Bedard, National Security Agency
		Superconductivity:  Who Cares?

December 4	Michael Slesinger, Office of Naval Research
		Chaos and Fractals: Past and Future

December 18	Teed Rockwell, Philosopher
		Beyond Determinism and Indignity:
		A Reinterpretation of Operant Conditioning

January 8	Retiring President's Address 

All meetings start at 8:15 p.m., with the exception of the Retiring President's
Address, which begins at 8:30 p.m.  Meetings are followed by a Social Hour with
beer and cider.  Non-Members Welcome