Beyond Freedom and Dignity
B. F. Skinner's 1971 argument that belief in free will blocks a better-designed society.
At a glance
Key ideas
A technology of behaviour, Against autonomous man, Dignity …
See all 5Criticism
Noam Chomsky, John Staddon
See all 2Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Skinner argues that belief in free will and moral autonomy, which he calls dignity, stands in the way of a science of behaviour.
- Major problems such as overpopulation and war are problems of behaviour, so they need a technology of behaviour.
- He rejects punishment as ineffective and argues that culture should be designed deliberately.
- He ends: "We have not yet seen what man can make of man."
Why it matters
- It is the boldest statement of behaviourism as social philosophy, and it put Skinner on the cover of Time.
Key facts
- Author
- B. F. Skinner1
- Published
- 19711
- Structure
- Nine chapters, from A Technology of Behavior to What Is Man?1
- Attention
- Skinner made the cover of Time magazine for it2
Key ideas
-
A technology of behaviour1
"What is needed is a technology of human behavior."
-
Against autonomous man1
Freedom has been wrongly defined as a state of mind rather than escape from aversive control.
-
Dignity1
Credit and blame rest on a false idea of inner causes.
-
Punishment1
Without free will, punishment makes little sense and does not work well.
-
Designing a culture1
Cultural design already happens; Walden Two is an example of doing it on purpose.
Criticism
Connections
Written by
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us
The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.