We do not choose survival as a value, it chooses us.
B. F. SkinnerRead
I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Skinner expresses his opposition to using both animals and humans in military capacities.
B. F. Skinner's quote highlights a moral stance against the exploitation of both animals and humans in military contexts. By opposing the military use of these beings, Skinner emphasizes the ethical implications of utilizing sentient lives for combat and warfare, advocating for a more humane approach to conflict resolution that respects the dignity of all living beings.
Themes
MilitaryEthicsAnimalsHumansOppositionWarfareCompassion
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about military ethics at a conference.
More from B. F. Skinner
All quotes βEach of us has interests which conflict the interests of everybody else... 'everybody else' we call 'society'. It's a powerful opponent and it always wins. Oh, here and there an individual prevails for a while and gets what he wants. Sometimes he storms the culture of a society and changes it to his own advantage. But society wins in the long run, for it has the advantage of numbers and of age.
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No theory changes what it is a theory about; man remains what he has always been.
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The ideal of behaviorism is to eliminate coercion: to apply controls by changing the environment in such a way as to reinforce the kind of behavior that benefits everyone.
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Unable to understand how or why the person we see behaves as he does, we attribute his behavior to a person we cannot see, whose behavior we cannot explain either but about whom we are not inclined to ask questions.
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Fame is also won at the expense of others. Even the well-deserved honors of the scientist or man of learning are unfair to many persons of equal achievements who get none. When one man gets a place in the sun, the others are put in a denser shade. From the point of view of the whole group there's no gain whatsoever, and perhaps a loss.
B. F. SkinnerRead
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