ThinkBlog

B. F. Skinner caused a huge controversy in psychology when he said that there was no such thing as free will–this was back in the 1950s before liberalism was the norm–and many were persuaded that he was correct. Skinner’s evidence for this theory in psychology, dubbed “behaviorism,” was that rats behaved in predictable ways when exposed to certain stimuli, either positive or negative, many times. This was the “operant conditioning learning theory,” and it has been popularized in subsequent generations as a sort of postmodern update to the ancient Greek fatalistic determinism.

I’m here to tell you, that theory is false, at least in the case of humans.

If I eat Mexican food, a negative stimulus (we’ll spare the details) is applied to my body. I know this–I remember these negative stimuli vividly, much better than a rat, I’m sure, would do the same–and yet I still go to Mexican restaurants, and did yesterday in fact. Why? The so-called “higher cognitive processes” came into play, no doubt. Hmm.

Well, it’s been a long while since I last updated the site; many things have transpired in the past couple of months. I am now free in the least desirable sort of way, but am beginning to enjoy it for all that; and I appreciate the lessons the good Lord has been teaching me through this. Life is one extremely complex exam that teaches you bits and pieces as you go; it’s like those reading comprehension tests on the SAT–remember those?–or any other standardized test. You read a few paragraphs and then answer some questions about what you read–how close was the attention you paid? How well did you do with and for whom did you use the gifts that God gave you?

Meanwhile, the temp continues to drop here at the apartment, not the least reason for which is the fact that the windows leak more air than my just-fixed shower faucet has leaked water over the past couple of months. Of course, I could have meant that metaphorically. But I didn’t.

More will come soon. Happy New Year; and as of yesterday, Happy Chinese New Year. Be well.