--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would have been glad to agree to let…" description: "\"“I would have been glad to agree to let them all proceed henceforth in complete ignorance of psychology, if they would forget my opinion of chocolate s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/b-f-skinner-4812_behaviorism_i-would-have-been-glad-to-agree-to-let-t_822836.png" --- # I would have been glad to agree to let them all proceed… ![“I would have been glad to agree to let them all proceed henceforth in complete ignorance of psychology, if they would forget my opinion of chocolate sodas or the story of the amusing episode on a Spanish streetcar.” quote by B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/b-f-skinner-4812_behaviorism_i-would-have-been-glad-to-agree-to-let-t_822836.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/b-f-skinner-4812_behaviorism_i-would-have-been-glad-to-agree-to-let-t_822836.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/b-f-skinner-4812_behaviorism_i-would-have-been-glad-to-agree-to-let-t_822836.png) > ““I would have been glad to agree to let them all proceed henceforth in complete ignorance of psychology, if they would forget my opinion of chocolate sodas or the story of the amusing episode on a Spanish streetcar.”” [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He mocks the idea of ignoring psychological insight while obsessing over trivial preferences, highlighting the absurdity of selective ignorance. **In simple terms:** Ignoring psychology while caring about minor opinions is absurd. Key Takeaway Don’t let trivial preferences blind you to deeper truths. Themes psychology selective ignorance triviality Mood skeptical ironic Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - media commentary - personal decision making Key Concepts behaviorism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What deeper issues are you overlooking? - How do minor preferences shape major decisions? A Different Perspective Trivial concerns can still dominate discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behaviorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaviorism/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“In my opinion, chocolate should be a food group.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillean-campbell/in-my-opinion-chocolate-should-be-a-food-group/) Gillean Campbell > [Forget about the opinion of those who have no belief in your vision. Most believe in what is, not what could be - until,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsepiso-makhubedu/forget-about-the-opinion-of-those-who-have-no-belief-in-your-vision/) [Tsepiso Makhubedu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsepiso-makhubedu/) > [In a world of complete economic equality, you get and keep the affections you deserve. You can't buy love with gifts or favors, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-a-world-of-complete-economic-equality-you-get-and-keep-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [According to a charming law of nature which is evident even in the most sophisticated societies, we live in complete ignorance of whatever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/according-to-a-charming-law-of-nature-which-is-evident-even-in-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Consciousness of myself, combined with complete ignorance of everything that does not fall within my sphere of thinking, is the most telling proof of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/consciousness-of-myself-combined-with-complete-ignorance-of/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [“Dehaene even allows himself a few moments of (justifiable) annoyance at the way that "childhood reading experts" continue their debates about the best strategies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/dehaene-even-allows-himself-a-few-moments-of-justifiable-annoyance-at/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“I decided that my initial survival strategy would involve declaring my complete ignorance of what was going on. This would not,naturally, be terribly hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/i-decided-that-my-initial-survival-strategy-would-involve-declaring/) [Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/) > [I really think that living is the process of going from complete certainty to complete ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dreyfuss/i-really-think-that-living-is-the-process-of-going-from-complete/) [Richard Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dreyfuss/) > [The thing that bugs me is the average woman's complete ignorance of the functional purpose of cosmetics, which is to supplement, not conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-clift/the-thing-that-bugs-me-is-the-average-woman-s-complete-ignorance-of/) [Montgomery Clift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montgomery-clift/) > [Anybody can write a three-volume novel. It merely requires a complete ignorance of both life and literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-write-a-three-volume-novel-it-merely-requires-a-complete/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by B. F. Skinner > [To require a citizen to sign a loyalty oath is to destroy some of the loyalty he could otherwise claim, since any subsequent loyal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-require-a-citizen-to-sign-a-loyalty-oath-is-to-destroy-some-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-first-principle-not-formally-recognized-by-scientific/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The problem of far greater importance remains to be solved. 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Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I would be opposed to any kind of totalitarian control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-would-be-opposed-to-any-kind-of-totalitarian-control/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A disappointment is not generally an oversight. It might just be the best one can do the situation being what it is. The genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-disappointment-is-not-generally-an-oversight-it-might-just-be-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior - verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-simplest-and-most-satisfactory-view-is-that-thought-is-simply/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/behavior-is-shaped-and-maintained-by-its-consequences/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The alphabet was a great invention, which enabled men to store and to learn with little effort what others had learned the hard way-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-alphabet-was-a-great-invention-which-enabled-men-to-store-and-to/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The people who control the condition in which we live have no reason to think beyond more than the next five or 10 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-people-who-control-the-condition-in-which-we-live-have-no-reason/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-am-opposed-to-the-military-use-of-animals-i-am-also-opposed-to-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A person's genetic endowment, a product of the evolution of the species, is said to explain part of the workings of his mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-person-s-genetic-endowment-a-product-of-the-evolution-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Reinforcement is being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/reinforcement-is-being-right/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [If you're old, don't try to change yourself, change your environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/if-you-re-old-don-t-try-to-change-yourself-change-your-environment/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) [Explore all 105 B. F. 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Some have said that it is a reductio ad absurdum… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/some-have-said-that-the-thesis-of-indeterminacy-is-a-consequence-of/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Think of all the nonsense you had to learn in psychology courses. None of which was testable. None of which was measurable. We had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/think-of-all-the-nonsense-you-had-to-learn-in-psychology-courses-none/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [The simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior - verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-simplest-and-most-satisfactory-view-is-that-thought-is-simply/) [B. F. 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History is nothing but the clash of class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/behaviorism-was-but-one-instance-of-a-terrible-temptation-for-all/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“Science is opposed to theological dogmas because science is founded on fact. To me, the universe is simply a great machine which never came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/science-is-opposed-to-theological-dogmas-because-science-is-founded/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [“The most attractive thing about you should have less to do with your face or body and more to do with your attitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/the-most-attractive-thing-about-you-should-have-less-to-do-with-your/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“Behaviorism entails the systematic denial of meaning, a denial which does violence to both the evidence and the everyday experience of humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/behaviorism-entails-the-systematic-denial-of-meaning-a-denial-which/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“As for the public, the PR man, like the advertising expert and others who deal with people in the lump, including a number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/as-for-the-public-the-pr-man-like-the-advertising-expert-and-others/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) [Browse all 39 Behaviorism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaviorism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I would have been glad to agree to let them all proceed henceforth in complete ignorance of psychology, if they would forget my opinion of chocolate sodas or the story of the amusing episode on a Spanish streetcar.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B. 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