p.1207 Behavior may have advantages which have played no role in its selection. The converse is also true. Events which follow behavior but are not necessarily produced by it may have a selective effect... All current characteristics of an organism do not necessarily contribute to its survival and procreation, yet they are all nevertheless "selected." Useless structures with associated useless functions are... inevitable... Both become more likely as organisms become more sensitive to contingencies.

p.1208 The remoteness of phylogenic contingencies affects our scientific methods, both experimental and conceptual. Until we have identified the variables of which an event is a function, we tend to invent causes.

p.1208 Thorpe (14) speaks of a disposition "which leads the animal to pay particular attention to objects of a certain kind." What we observe is simply that objects of a certian kind are especially effective stimuli... The ontogenic contingencies which generate bahavior called "paying attention" also presumably have phylogenic parallels.

p.1208 Unable to show how the organism can behave effectively under complex circumstances, we endow it with a special cognitive ability which permits it to do so. Once the contingencies are understood, we no longer need to appeal to mentalistic explanations.

p.1212 With respect to phylogenic contingencies, this is what is meant by natural selection. With respect to ontogeny, it is what is meant by operant conditioning. Successful responses are selected in both cases, and the result is adaptation.