The Clash of the Giants Goes Beyond Teminological Differences: A Reply to Moerk

Abstract

Moerk’s (1992) article, “The Clash of Giants Over Terminological Differences,� disregards substantive differences between Skinner’s and Chomsky’s account of verbal behavior. Moerk’s choice of the term “language� instead of “verbal behavior� exemplifies his neglect of distinctions important to behaviorists. His reconciliation of the roles of phylogenetic factors in Skinner’s and Chomsky’s accounts ignores a fundamental difference between the possibility and the probability of a response. Moerk’s contention that behaviorists are uninterested in the fine-grained structures of behavior ignores the behavior distinction between the structure and function of a behavior.