Re: Against Behaviorism

Traveler <traveler@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

BTW, (I'm targeting this comment mostly toward Curt Welch) it is a lie
that intelligent behavior is entirely the result of reinforcement
(reward and punishment) learning. There is a logical aspect to motor
learning (i.e., resolving conflicts) that has absolutely nothing to do
with reward and punishment. If the brain did not have a mechanism for
resolving motor contradictions, it would take us forever to learn the
simplest behaviors. This is the mechanism that keep us from doing
stupid things like trying to open and close a door simultaneously.

And how does it do that? Does it cause the behavior to be changed when the
system tries to do something "stupid"?

Do you understand that a mechanism like that is reinforcement learning?
That is, adjusting the system to change it's future behavior when it makes
a "mistake"?

This kind of stuff has absolutely nothing to do with reward and
punishment.

You have simply chosen to give a reinforcement learning mechanism a
different name and you are now trying to argue it's not reinforcement
learning because you call it motor conflict resolution. The fact that you
make up your own names for things doesn't make them different.

Besides, reinforcement does not precede the formation of
behavior. That is to say, a behavior must already be in place before
it can be reinforced. Most behaviorists are out to lunch in this
context.

None of them are confused on that issue Louis. They all know that the
behavior must be created before it can be reinforced. This is why they
talk about the three-term contingency which puts the behavior before the
reinforcement event instead of after it. It's just the people like you
that don't understand behaviorism who are confused here and continue to put
forth the same stupid arguments day after day.

The arguments against behaviorism are no better than the arguments
creationists put forth to show that evolution is not science. It's stupid
*** created by people who see something they don't like, and are grasping
at straws to show that it must be bad since it feels so wrong to them.
They should all spend more time trying to understand why it feels wrong,
instead of just assuming their feelings are correct and looking for ways to
rationalize what their gut is telling them.

--
Curt Welch http://CurtWelch.Com/
curt@xxxxxxxx http://NewsReader.Com/
.