Beyond Freedom and Dignity - Hardcover

Skinner, B.F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394425553 ISBN 13: 9780394425559

Publisher: Knopf, 1971

Synopsis

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1971
• ISBN 10: 0394425553
• ISBN 13: 9780394425559
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 225