B.F. Skinner

"Civilization is not inherited; it has to be learned and earned by each generation anew."

"The real problem is that the world is changing much faster than the human race is learning to adapt."

"We are designed to learn; not to have learning imposed upon us."

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself."

"The probability of reinforcement is the most important factor in learning and behavior."

"A person does not act because, as the lay term would suggest, he is free to act or not to act. He acts because of prior causes."

"Superstition is the result of random reinforcement in the absence of a causal contingency."

"The goal of a culture is to make as much of the genetic material available as possible, and culture survives only as an evolving entity."

"What is needed is not a change of heart but a change of mind."

"Let me make a point very clear: I do not believe in free will."

"The more a person controls the behavior of another, the more motivated that other person becomes to escape or revolt."

"Love, as you know, is very apt to change its subject into a hero or to cling blindly to a hero."

"Creativity is not something that emerges from within; it is constructed through proper environmental contingencies."

"We learn by example and by direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction."

"A person is first and foremost a biological organism, and his behavior is controlled by his genetic makeup and environment."

"The assumption that only the happy deserve to be happy leads to injustice and cruelty."

"Those who have plenty want to share it, while those who have nothing wish to get it without sharing."

"The main objection to political freedom is that it is always being replaced by the freedom to do what the powerful want you to do."

"The contingencies which reinforce behavior naturally selected as a species."

"Understanding human behavior means understanding the contingencies of reinforcement that shape it."

"Technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes in the real world."

"War is a form of human behavior, and like all forms of behavior, it is determined by environmental contingencies."

"Art is not about self-expression; it is about the arrangement of elements to produce effects."

"Music moves us because it follows the same patterns that govern all human behavior."

"The measure of a civilization is its ability to control and shape the behavior of its members."

"We should teach people how to live, not what to live for."

"A person changes because the contingencies of reinforcement change, not because of internal motivations."

"Faith is what remains when all rational evidence has been exhausted."

"Power corrupts not because humans are naturally corrupt, but because power changes the contingencies of behavior."

"Money is merely a conditioned reinforcer that has become valuable through our cultural practices."