On the Distinction Between Private Events and the Physiology of the Organism (1)‪.‬

In this paper, I discuss the use of the concept of private events in behavior-analytic interpretations for phenomena such as feelings and cognitions. I contrast the idea of an "inner world" with the relational character of the subject matter of a science of behavior, and argue that defining feelings and cognitions as inner events, mental or physiological, is incompatible with a behavior-analytic view. I consider some circumstances in which bodily conditions may acquire stimulus functions, and contend that they do not equal bodily conditions to private stimuli. Finally, I discuss covert responses as responses of the organism as a whole, whose distinctive features lie in the restricted participation of the motor apparatus and on relational dimensions of the response. Key-words: private events, private stimuli, covert responses, physiology.