Skip to main content

Beyond Freedom and Dignity - A Review

 

Beyond Freedom and Dignity

Author: B.F. Skinner

Reviewer

  Geoffrey W. Sutton

 

B.F. Skinner's Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971) challenges traditional ideas about human autonomy and self-determination. Skinner asserts that our behaviors are not driven by an inherent sense of freedom or dignity, but rather by environmental contingencies.

I observed a somewhat humorous example of Skinner’s influence on psychology in the 1970s when I was in graduate school. A colleague in school psychology relied heavily upon reinforcement theory as he helped teachers with classroom management and identified himself as a behavioral engineer.

 

In Beyond Freedom and Dignity, Skinner argues for a more orderly structuring of society, especially through the implementation of psychological research. As a proponent of radical behaviorism, he posits that humans are controlled by their environment and their DNA. He suggests that if society wishes to improve its collective habits, it must change its environment.

 


Skinner criticizes the idea of free will and morality, arguing that human behavior is influenced by the environment and not some internal force or thought. He believes that it is naive to assume that something which cannot be seen by the human eye has a big influence on our actions.

 

Skinner discusses operant conditioning, explaining how children are learn to act and behave when they are young and believes that the same process may be applied to adults. If human beings can learn (i.e., be conditioned) to behave in a certain way, society can be better.

 

Skinner contends that the results are rarely positive when individuals and societies make life decisions based on their passions or ego. He proposes the need for “a technology of behavior. With modern scientific research, society can be structured in a way to promote wise human behaviors.

 

Skinner calls the people shaping society to be benevolent engineers. He acknowledges that the power to shape society through behaviorism can be used for positive or nefarious purposes; however, he was criticized for not elaborating on how this power could be abused.

 

APA Reference:

Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond Freedom and Dignity. New York: Knopf.

Sutton, G. W. (2024, January 9). Beyond freedom and dignity-review. Retrieved from https://suttonreviews.suttong.com/2024/01/beyond-freedom-and-dignity-review.html

Note. I read a hardcover edition of the book. I used Bing Chat to assist me in preparing this summary.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON



Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE - A book review

  JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE How White Evangelicals        Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation By    Kristin Kobes Du Mez Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton   Kristin Kobes Du Mez begins and ends her assault on militaristic white American evangelical men with their contemporary sociopolitical leader, former president, Donald Trump. In the Introduction we learn the short doctrinal list of what it means to be a Bible-believing evangelical, but the author posits that American evangelicals are more than a set of theological statements. Instead, since the early 1900s they have embraced a John Wayne view of what it means to be a Christian man—a powerful warrior for country and God—a man who leads his troops into battle to uphold the values of God’s chosen people, the Americans. It was the title, Jesus and John Wayne , that was off-putting. I didn’t grow up with John Wayne films or a love of American westerns. I was after...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why I am not a Christian - Bertrand Russell - A book Review

 Why I Am Not A         Christian By   Bertrand Russell Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton   I am still surprised by the memory of a professor at a highly conservative college who included Russell’s book, Why I am not a Christian as assigned reading in a Philosophy of Christianity class. I don’t recall what the professor said about the collection of essays so many years ago. However, it is a classic work and deserves at least a look by those like me interested in the psychology of religion and related fields like philosophy. The lead essay answers the author’s question in the title. It was presented as a lecture at the Battersea Town Hall (London, England) in 1927. His logical thinking is evident early on as he attempts to define the concept, Christian . He considers a few options and concludes first, that a Christian must believe in God and immortality, and second, a Christian must at least think of Christ as the “best and wis...
Post a Comment
Read more

Progressive Christianity - Book List Reviews or Summaries

  The Way Understanding Progressive Christianity Book Reviews One way to understand a movement is to read what the leaders have written. The progressive Christian movement, like any Christian movement, can be difficult to describe in detail because there is no one authoritative body or voice. Instead, there are many voices. I hesitate to offer too many descriptive statements because there are surely some who will disagree. Nevertheless, I will list a few trends then list some of the books by writers with progressive perspectives. See the book reviews by clicking the highlighted titles below. Progressive Christians emphasize: A focus on the life and teachings of Jesus when interpreting scripture and thinking morally about current social issues. An appreciation of what it means to truly love God and one’s neighbour as oneself when it comes to compassionate behaviour and promoting justice for all. A commitment to following Jesus' example of meeting the immediate needs of peo...
Post a Comment
Read more