The Role of Evolutionary Biology in Historical Predecessors to Contemporary Behaviorism

In contemporary behaviorism of various guises, including the variation associated with B. F. Skinner known as radical behaviorism, the inclusion of evolutionary biology is seen as crucial for a complete science of human behavior. For example, classical and operant conditioning is commonly viewed as capacities of phylogenetic origins that allow for adaptive ontogenetic learning. Furthermore, selection processes are by some behaviorists seen as an explanatory mode common for both evolutionary changes of the species and for changes in the behavioral repertoire of individual organisms. The current paper will explore the role of evolutionary biology in historical traditions that has influenced contemporary behaviorism. Specifically, we will provide brief accounts of role allocated to evolutionary biology in the works of the mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russel and in the pragmatic philosophy of Charles Sanders Pierce, as well as in the works of early behaviorists such as John B. Watson and Edward L. Thorndike