Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

OK, I'll bite

I never read the book, but I got on amazon.com and read the review of it. It stated, in part,

''Basing his arguments on the massive results of the experimental analysis of behavior he pioneered, Skinner rejects traditional explanations of behavior in terms of states of mind, feelings, and other mental attributes in favor of explanations to be sought in the interaction between genetic endowment and personal history. He argues that instead of promoting freedom and dignity as personal attributes, we should direct our attention to the physical and social environments in which people live. It is the environment rather than humankind itself that must be changed if the traditional goals of the struggle for freedom and dignity are to be reached.

Beyond Freedom and Dignity urges us to reexamine the ideals we have taken for granted and to consider the possibility of a radically behaviorist approach to human problems - one that has appeared to some incompatible with those ideals, but which envisions the building of a world in which humankind can attain its greatest possible achievements.''

So what does that mean? What about the environment needs to be changed? I can think of lots of things, but what did B.F. Skinner have to say?

What's the Point

I've read most of Skinner's books, including Walden Two and some of his more academic stuff. Never cared for it.

Although no doubt a kind and decent man, and a pretty smart one too, Skinner was an extreme behaviorist. He actually believed that the same operative principles govern the behavior of rats as govern the behavior of human beings. Operant conditioning, for Skinner, was everything.

Never bought that myself. Even rats are more sophisticated than Skinner thought. I value freedom and dignity, and privacy too. I have no desire to go beyond them or, more to the point, to come up short of them.

But what's your point, Mouse?

By Bigfish

A Key Element

One of Skinner's key elements expecially in his later works was to control behavior with drugs. He advocated drugging the entire population via the water supply (tranquillizers) and select individuals with stronger psycotropic drugs. His position in ''Beyond Freedom and Dignity'' at least as interpreted in my class at the time was that freedom and dignity are troublesome illusions best controlled for state purposes.

By Any Mouse

Good Point

I agree with you, Mouse. Let's not have any of that.

By Bigfish