Existentialism and Skinner's neobehaviorism: a contrast

¶ … Existentialism & Skinners Neo-Behaviorism

Existentialism is a trend or a sort of thinking and philosophy that has been evident throughout the history of philosophy. The principles of existentialism do not support those abstract theories that attempt to describe all the intricacies of life as being extremely simple and uncomplicated; it also lays stress and emphasizes on subjects such as freedom, individuality, subjectivity, and so on and so forth, wherein the actuality of life is revealed, and other abstract philosophical theories that try to cover up all the messes and troubles that is true and real life are discarded in favor of the existentialist philosophy, which believes that no single theory can well and truly be able to explain the entire experience of human life. However, if one can state that it is the experience of life that is the real point of life, then why cannot one state that this is also the point of philosophy and philosophical theory? (What is Existentialism? History of existentialism, Existentialist Philosophy)

It must be remembered that over the hundreds and thousands of years from the beginning of the existence of man, Western philosophy has become more and more abstract, and also become quite removed and distant from the real lives of human beings. This fact is especially evident in the quest for answers to questions like the true nature of knowledge, the nature of truth, and so on, the real person or the real human beings have been relegated to the background, and in the high philosophical theories, there is today no real room for the real people of this world any more. This is the reason that existentialist theory focuses on real people, and states that all human beings must be given independence, a choice, etc., and that one must be able to make one's own choices in one's own life, and therefore take up responsibility for the choices that one has made out of his own free will. (What is Existentialism? History of existentialism, Existentialist Philosophy)

The phrase 'existentialism' was purportedly coined by the great philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, which was meant to convey the feeling that 'existence precedes essence'. What it means is that the essence of the nature of a thing is actually more fundamental and also more eternal than its mere existence. Jean Paul also focused on the radical freedoms that all human beings face everyday of their lives, wherein, since the fact is that there are no eternal standards to be taken into consideration and one must be completely responsible for his own actions. However, Sartre also recognized and acknowledged the fact that such responsibility would be too much for many human beings to handle properly. (Topical History of Existentialism, themes, ideas of existentialists)

As a matter of fact, existentialism was born in the traumatic and disturbed years between the two World Wars, and the principles are generally attributed to Martin Heidegger, between the years 1899-1976, and to Karl Jaspers, in the years from 1883-1969. However, it was only after Jean Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, brought the principles of the school to the notice of the general public that existentialism became recognized in the international arena. Albert Camus joined Sartre, from the years 1913-1960, and these two were responsible for providing the leadership for the principles of existentialism, and bringing it to the attention of the entire world at that time. It is believed that the trauma of the years between the two World Wars had led people to renounce God, and there was in fact nothing for them to believe in, and they turned to humanity itself to find new values so that they would have something at least to believe in and display their faith. This is probably why they believed that man is responsible for his own actions, and that only he could solve his own problems. (Lecture 12: The Existentialist Frame of Mind)

However, it must be stated that existentialism was the climax of almost two centuries of European thought, drawn into one single structure, and it drew on a large number of already evolved earlier ideas and concepts. It seemed to be a perennial philosophy, and Jean Paul Sartre has stated "existentialism is an attempt to draw all the consequences from a consistent atheist position." (Lecture 12: The Existentialist Frame of Mind) Therefore, it must also be said that the principles of existentialism are primarily based on the assumption, first and foremost, that God no longer exists, and that man must exist and think for himself, because there is nothing else left to believe in. (Lecture 12: The Existentialist Frame of Mind)

Behaviorism and neo-behaviorism, on the other hand, are simple theories; their mission being that behavior as such must be controlled or predicted. The main area of interest to a Behaviorist is how certain changes in the environment of man would be able to bring about changes in man's basic behavior. In other words, Behaviorists believed that all individuals would work to achieve desired and positive outcomes, and work hard to avoid negative ones, and all animals are taught certain behaviors in exactly this way. BF Skinner, called by Time magazine in the year 1971 as the "most influential of living American Psychologists," whose Book entitled "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" was referred to as one of the most important 'happenings' in the entire twentieth century, is generally recognized as being the Father of Behaviorist Theory. (Lecture, Behaviorism)

Skinner insisted that the so called 'autonomous man' did not, in fact exist at all. What he was referring to was all the various aspects of a human being that is different from that of an animal, and which were not at all clearly observable: mind, reasoning, values, thoughts, judgment, memory, independence, purpose, and so on and so forth, which he called "pre-scientific superstition." Skinner also felt that the 'Cognitive Movement' of Jean Piaget was the very "Creationism of Psychology." This can be taken as an example of Skinner's extremely 'positivism', wherein objective knowledge becomes directly 'knowable', and that one must utilize science to observe 'directly observable scientific phenomenon'. Therefore, if one cannot see or observe it, then it means that it must not be studied by a phenomenon that calls itself 'science'. Therefore, science must not undertake to study cognition. Although one must remember that not all Skinner's theories gained acclaim and recognition, his larger contribution to the concepts and ideals of behaviorism was the innovative researching methods that he was able to contribute to the world of science, and these theories in fact caused a flurry of learning in the fields of animal and human behavior research. (Lecture, Behaviorism)

However, one problem certainly stems from the Neo-behaviorism, and it is that at times, observed events become confused with the verbal constructions or sentences that are generally used to describe those events, and one perfect example of this fact is the interpretation of 'causality' as offered by behaviorists, wherein causal powers are often implied, even though it may be known that they may not be included in the main events themselves. (Leigland, 1998)

The principles and views of existentialism and neo-behaviorism are quite different. Starting with the principles of existentialism, it is evident that the existentialists believed that all humans, in fact, human existence in itself, has a set of underlying themes and also some characteristics, which may be anxiety, dread, fear, an awareness or a consciousness of death and the fragility of human life, and also a freedom. These are all primary feelings, and they cannot be explained away by a natural-scientific approach, or by any form of approach that tries to rise above the feelings as described above. Therefore, all human beings can only be understood completely and absolutely if they were to be viewed from the inside; in other words, as related to the lives that they are living, and what they may have experienced, including any form of problems or dilemmas, and this is life, as far as the existentialist is concerned. (Existentialism)

An existentialist emphasizes on the concepts of freedom and on action and decision as being basic and fundamental to human existence, and these are notions that are opposed and contrasted to the concepts of positivism and rationalism. Human beings are therefore not rational or knowing beings that can be termed as objects of knowledge, or whose various actions and behaviors can be regulated completely by rational principles. Human beings are, therefore, according to Existentialist principles, subjects in an indifferent and an 'absurd' universe, wherein meaning is not provided by God or anybody else, but is found in man's actions and behaviors; man is responsible for himself and all his various actions. (Existentialism)

The principles of behaviorism, on the other hand, are quite different. This is an approach to psychology wherein behaviors of man can be researched and analyzed, scientifically, without having to resort to man's innermost feelings or his actions or his psyche and his inner mental states at any given time. It has even been termed as a form of materialism, wherein the idea that the mind has any form of independent significance is ignored and rejected. The concepts of behaviorism have been very important and infinitely significant for the psychological treatment and cure of human beings, and have therefore been accepted as the foundation for 'pharmacological therapy'. According to neo-behaviorism, free will, or the idea of a person being completely responsible for his own actions or behaviors, does not exist at all, and this is in complete contrast to the existentialist theory which holds man responsible for all his actions. Neo-behaviorism states that all man's behavior is determined by his environment, wherein the main influences may be through association, or through the so-called 'operant conditioning', a theory propounded by Skinner, and animals upon which Skinner experimented showed that they demonstrated classic consequences as related to a typical behavior. (Behaviorism)