Walden Two
Skinner, following in the footsteps of John B. Watson, believed the final goal of behaviorism, and ultimately psychology was "the prediction and control of behavior"(Benjamin, 1997, p.396). Of course, with this prediction and control of behavior there comes some important philosophical questions such as, who will be the controllers of behavior, what behaviors will be controlled, which ones will not, and finally, will this control be to our advantage or do we lose our freedom? This mode of thinking is where B.F. Skinner tries to make his far-reaching contribution to society as a whole. Skinner believes that with the discovery of operant conditioning and use of behaviorist theory that a new utopian society can be created. In his books such as, Reflections on Behaviorism and Society, The Technology of Teaching, and most directly in Walden Two, Skinners tries to address some of the philosophical questions raised by behaviorism and defend his hopes for utopia. Because Skinner's ide!as reach into the realm of moral philosophy he has come under some attack from both psychologists and philosophers. James McGraw, one of the many Skinner opponents, says that, "Such a Utopian society would undermine the values that many of us
The issue of freedom is one that is the most important to many who disagree with Skinner's philosophy. Even if Skinner can defend his definitions of "flourishing culture" or a positive technology, can he defend the loss of freedom that individuals will experience with control of their behavior? Does the ability to create a person who is good without thinking justify taking away that individuals ability or right to be bad? Skinner, however, does not see controlling behavior as a loss of freedom. He asks, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skinner's defense against this argument is, of course, science. For example in Walden Two, the visitors to the community continually question Frazier about the methods which he uses to create the utopia. What makes his methods right? Why is this community perfect? Frazier suggests that through trial and error experimentation the greatest good for everyone can be achieved. He justifies his community as perfect by showing the happiness of all the citizens. In Freedom and Control of Men, Skinner tries to define the "flourishing culture" as a defense against against McGray's claim. He says, "The upshot of this scientific approach to behavioral problems is that people will become wise and good without trying, without having to be, without choosing to be. The application of behavioral science to moral training will produce men who are good practically automatically" ( Skinner, 1956,p.60) Although, this is a general idea of a flourishing utopia, the definition of good is still up for! The world was beginning to face problems of an entirely new order of magnitude-the exhaustion of resources, the pollution of the environment, overpopulation, and the possibility of a nuclear holocaust,
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Approximate Word count = 1194
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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