Considerations on Behavior Based on Merleau-Ponty’s Criticisms
Theory & Psychology March 23, 2026 Henrique Mesquita Pompermaier, Carlos Eduardo Lopes
Radical behaviorism can address Merleau-Ponty's challenge to scientific psychology by treating behavior as a phenomenon in its own right, avoiding the dichotomous stalemate between mentalism and physiologism. The paper examines various understandings of behavior in B. F. Skinner's work and behavior-analytic literature, adopting Merleau-Ponty's view that ambiguity is a constitutive characteristic of behavioral phenomena. It presents an understanding of behavior based on a relational ontology that responds to Merleau-Ponty's challenges, updating radical behaviorism's philosophical potential for dialogue with traditions seeking to overcome mentalism and physiological reductionism.