Beyond Freedom & Dignity [Paperback]

B. F. Skinner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0872206270 | ISBN-13: 978-0872206274 | Edition: 1

In this profound and profoundly controversial work, a landmark of 20th-century thought originally published in 1971, B. F. Skinner makes his definitive statement about humankind and society.

Insisting that the problems of the world today can be solved only by dealing much more effectively with human behavior, Skinner argues that our traditional concepts of freedom and dignity must be sharply revised. They have played an important historical role in our struggle against many kinds of tyranny, he acknowledges, but they are now responsible for the futile defense of a presumed free and autonomous individual; they are perpetuating our use of punishment and blocking the development of more effective cultural practices. 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990), regarded by many as the most important and influential psychologist since Freud, earned his doctorate in psychology at Harvard University in 1931. Following appointments at the University of Minnesota and Indiana University, he returned to Harvard in 1948. He remained there for the rest of his career, retiring in 1974 as Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology. His many works include Walden Two (1948) and Verbal Behavior (1957).

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Hackett Pub Co; 1 edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872206270
• ISBN-13: 978-0872206274
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.6 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Behavioral Sciences > Behavioral Psychology

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative philosophy from an American behavorist March 15, 2005

By Danno VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

B.F. Skinner was the leading experimental psychologist in the United States for a large portion of his career, and his reputation within the field is still formidable. Unlike most scientists, Skinner also chose to write books for a popular audience. And, unlike most so-called "popular scientists" like Carl Sagan or Stephen Jay Gould, Skinner cared more that the layman understood the philosophy behind science, rather than how that particular science worked.

"Beyond Freedom and Dignity" is Skinner's most successful - and controversial work. Skinner's brand of psychology is called Behaviorism for a very good reason - it deals only with objective, measurable behaviors and does not speculate about motivations, drives, dreams, etc. Skinner argues that applied Behaviorism has the potential to solve many seemingly unsolvable problems, such as overpopulation, crime, pollution, and the like. To Skinner, our very concepts of Freedom and Dignity are hindrances because they are abstract ideals that cannot be measured or quantified. It is only when we care about behavior that we have a chance of understanding why human beings do the things that we do and have the potential to truly change society.

I strongly recommend this book, although I do not agree with much of Skinner's philosophy. Skinner wrote clearly, cleanly, and directly. Anyone with a high school diploma or GED could read and understand this book, and engage in a dialogue with Skinner's ideas. I've used chapters of this book in a course in the History of Psychology that I teach, and it never fails to engage people, challenge them, and spur them on to debate. To me, this is what a great book should do. Whether you glorify or villify B.F. Skinner, his ideas are worth grappling with.

I would try a copy at my local library first and then purchase this book if you wish to reread it.

36 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Toward Knowledge and Usefulness March 9, 2004

By calmly

Format:Paperback

This is a great book. It argues that:

1) the human race faces great and urgent problems, such as overpopulation and habitat destruction.

2) we don't behave all that well: we're having difficulty addressing the urgent problems.

3) a scientific approach may be able to help.

4) indeed, a "technology of behavior" is being developed and shows promise. This includes Skinner's experimental findings and conclusions, for example, the role of operant conditioning and the limitations of punishment.

5) Using this emerging technology of behavior, individuals can manage themselves better (as Skinner demonstrated with himself). As a race, we should also be able to use this technology to manage ourselves collectively better.

6) We are being managed (i.e. controlled) anyway, often by forces we either aren't aware of or don't grasp the impact of.

7) If we took control of this technology of behavior, applying it as it is and developing it further, we might be able to save ourselves from the urgent problems that confront us.

8) A key obstacle to the application and further development of this technology is our belief that we are somehow ultimately free of external causes. We believe in free will (freedom or autonomy) and consequently we take credit ( feel dignity) for things we really don't have much or any control over.

9) If we look at the explanations we offer on the basis of our freedom and dignity, we may see that they cover up huge areas of ignorance we have as to why we behave as we do. And if we look at our behavior, we see that we don't control it as much as we think we can (consider the problem people have with obesity or addiction) and we take credit for things we aren't responsible for (including what now appear to be genetic endowments).

10) By attributing things to our "free will", we tend to ignore the real events that influence us, and by so doing we fail to learn from them.

11) If we worked together to look at what really is influencing us and at how we do and can influence others, we might be able to shift ourselves toward being more altruistic and more effective, i.e. we might be able to overcome the big problems that we are currently creating.

Better ways of managing ourselves may mean better ways to manipulate others, but it may also mean that people will be better informed so as to counter manipulations and join, where appropriate, in managing themselves better. At least with an open, scientific process, we have a chance of learning and improving the process ourselves, instead of floundering into disasters due to half-baked concepts about ourselves.

It may make no sense to you to chuck your "autonomous person" yet, but there's no need to. The important thing is to take a little time to learn what Skinner and other behaviorists have learned and try to apply it to help yourself ... and others. You may find yourself stepping beyond freedom and dignity toward knowledge and usefulness ... and that may feel like a good thing.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An important book about what "control" really means March 8, 1998

By Peter F. Delaney

Format:Hardcover

This is an extremely important book whose central thesis is that people prefer to be controlled by forces they cannot directly observe rather than by forces they can directly observe. When someone makes you do something, you feel controlled and are likely to rebel. If you are controlled by things that don't seem to be controlling you, though, like your education or the norms of your society, then you don't feel coerced and do not rebel. His point, however, is that you are still being controlled even if you don't see the hand of the person controlling you.

Although most people are horrified by Skinner's assertion that they are being controlled by forces they don't know about, Skinner himself did not mean the book to be pessimistic. Instead, he hoped that by alerting people to what controls them that they would be able to examine those controls and change them through a science of behavior.