#36 - Did Skinner Meditate? Behaviorism Meets Contemplative Living w/ David Roth

Show Notes

• About the episode

  In this episode, Zach and Caleb discuss a behavior analytic interpretation of contemplative practices with David Roth.
  
  

  Learning Objectives

  • Analyze the behavioral mechanisms of contemplative practices (e.g., mindfulness and meditation), interpreting private events like "focusing on the breath" as an overt or covert self-tacting repertoire subject to environmental reinforcement.

  • Evaluate the concept of the "observing self" through a radical behaviorist framework, defining it as a complex verbal repertoire that allows an individual to objectively observe and respond to their own behavior.

  • Synthesize B.F. Skinner’s perspective on internal states with modern contemplative living to explain how a thoroughly naturalistic science accounts for spiritual, emotional, or transcendent experiences by examining an individual's unique historical variables and environmental contingencies.

  • Examine the role of verbal behavior and rule-governed action in emotional reactivity, explaining how contemplative practices can alter an individual's response to their own negative self-talk by changing the function of those verbal stimuli.

  • Formulate a behavior-analytic approach to values-based living, defining personal values and practices like "loving your enemies" as abstract verbal repertoires or rules that act as motivating operations to guide long-term, skillful behavior.

• Things to check out from the episode:

  
  

  Dialogues on Verbal Behavior - Podcast - Apple Podcasts
  
  B. F. SKINNER FOUNDATION – Better Behavioral Science for a More Humane World

  Link to BF Skinner Foundation bookstore to purchase Reflections on Behaviorism and Society: Behaviorism and Society: https://www.bfskinner.org/product/reflections-on-behaviorism-and-society-extended-edition/

  Link to pdf for Mindfulness in Plain English: https://cdn.bookey.app/files/pdf/book/en/mindfulness-in-plain-english.pdf

  David’s ResearchGate profile for David's publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Roth11?ev=hdr_xprf

  Link to Skinner’s article What Religion Means to Me: https://secularhumanism.org/1987/04/what-religion-means-to-me/

  
  David Roth gifted 50 of our listeners 3 free months of Sam Harris's Wake Up app. Use the promo code below.

  
  

  Promo code:  WU7A-6C28129A2A 

  Redeem: wakingup.com/redeem

  This unlocks full access to the Waking Up app, including:

  
  

  • 28-day introductory course
  • Robust library of guided meditations
  • In-depth talks on philosophy, science, and more
  • Conversations with leading scholars and teachers

  
  

  
  

  
  References:
  
  Gunaratana, B. H. (2010). Mindfulness in plain English. ReadHowYouWant. com.
  
  Hanh, T. N. (2012). Old Path White Clouds: The Life Story of the Buddha. Random House.
  
  Skinner, B.F. (1980). Notebooks, B.F. Skinner. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc

  
  

  Skinner, B. F. (1987). What religion means to me.