Beyond open-mindedness: Politics, epistemology, and the legacy of “About Behaviorism”

Abstract

This paper reevaluates B. F. Skinner’s About Behaviorism within its political and epistemological context. First, we examine how the U.S. political climate of the 1960s and 1970s, marked by civil rights movements and Cold War tensions, contributed to linking be­haviorism with authoritarianism and increased criticism of Skinner’s ideas. We then ana­lyze the rise of cognitivism in connection with the defending of open-mindedness as both a scientific and a cultural ideal. By promoting conceptual flexibility and interdisciplinarity as paradigms of the human mind, this ideal tended to weaken explicit philosophical com­mitments. Against this background, we advance a critique of open-mindedness as an ideal, without endorsing a closed or dogmatic stance. We further consider the continued relevance of this diagnosis, arguing that appeals to openness may depoliticize scientific debates and blur conceptual identities. Finally, we highlight the Brazilian mentality, characterized by pluralism and critical engagement, as a promising alternative, as reflected in this special volume.