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Abstract
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The question is raised whether a mechanical basis for human behavior is adequate for an enduring program of social control. Four theories which indicate the direction of social evolution are given: pleasure-pain, minimum energy, stable equilibrium, variability. The variability theory seems to conform b st with the fundamental natural science principles. The statistical study of human behavior seems to indicate mechanism for both the individual and the group. Such conceptions as free will and personal responsibility will vanish with the introduction of scientific methods, although they may prove useful as pedagogical devices for those not scientifically trained. Our modern social condition is one in which the idealism of the past, based on sentiment and tradition, is gradually being replaced by an idealism based upon scientific methods. This requires an entire change in the personnel of those who have been formulating the stimuli which enter into the program of social control. This is a slow process. Behaviorism in ethics implies that only the best scientific methods should be used in formulating this program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
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