"Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless."

B. F. Skinner Psychology See all quotes by B. F. Skinner →

React to this quote

More by B. F. Skinner

“The strengthening of behavior which results from reinforcement is appropriately called "conditioning". In operant conditioning we "strengthen" an operant in the sense of making a response more probable or, in actual fact, more frequent.”

“The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.”

“It is a mistake to suppose that the whole issue is how to free man. The issue is to improve the way in which he is controlled.”

“The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds a thinking man.”

“We admire people to the extent that we cannot explain what they do, and the word "admire" then means "marvel at.”

“It has always been the task of formal education to set up behavior which would prove useful or enjoyable later in a student's life.”

Resonant Thoughts

"The massive upsurge of the Negro people and the support and sympathy aroused in the white community beat the dinosaur back from their first line of defense."

— Eldridge Cleaver

Politics1935–1998

#Human Nature

"I grew up surrounded by all types of music...You have to remember, Panama is a port so I always had contact with all types of music—from the big bands of Count Basie to all the Cuban bands of people l…"

— Rubén Blades

Music1948

#Human Nature

"You could make a good case that the history of social life is about the history of the technology of memory. That social order and control, structure of governance, social cohesion in states or organi…"

— Eben Moglen

Education1959

#power

"All of us have masculine and feminine qualities—some of this is genetic, and some of it comes from the profound influence of the parent of the opposite sex. But in the need to present a consistent ide…"

— Robert Greene (American author)

Literature1959–1978

#mind