I'm taking an intro to psyc course now and we've spent some lectures discussing the learning theory. Now while these theories do provide some insight, the foundational perspective of behaviorism is no longer held by general field of psychology.Cognitive science is the response to problems with behaviorism not acknowledging mental states. However, and being aware that everything is along a spectrum, not to think in absolutes, etc.,  I'm curious if the perspective of behaviorism can still be taken while acknowleding that more things are going on besides the interplay between external stimuli and behavior. Specifically, the argument that mental states are cannot be rigorously studied originally meant that we ought only to study the relationship between stimuli and behavior. What if we were to shift the perspective on behaviorism so as to redefine it to include in the definition of stimuli anda behavior the physical processes of the mind, i.e. physical/neuronal dynamics (at whichever scale is relevant) of the brain itself. That is, we can include brain dynamics as a variable which shapes behavior and is shaped by behavior without considering the conscious experience in the brain itself. We are conscious so there is clearly more to the brain than physical dynamics alone, but being able to scientifically study the brain without throwing about subjective terminology is powerful. So is this perspective taken today  that, acknowleding consciousness, science ought only to study that which is objective. Because the brain is a variable between input and behavior, we should consider its dynamics (using FMRI, etc). Maybe this is just my ignorance about what CogSci is all about.
Behaviorist Approach to Cognitive Science (seems a dichotomy, it's not)
behaviorism