On Jun 26, 2010, at 3:40 PM, michael sylvester wrote: > Did Skinner ever imply that there was no such thing as freedom since there > is aiways a consequence to every action leading to controls by the > goverment,the community.or ourselves?
More basic: as a strict determinist Skinner believed that every action was an effect that had a cause. So ALL behavior is controlled in the sense that it has a cause; the only question is what sort of cause is in effect in a given case. > Did his formulation of Walden Two ever led to charges of socialist or > communistic tendencies? Of course. I remember debating Paul Meehl about that issue. > And if we are to compare and contrast the Brittsh A.S Neill's > Summerhill education paradigm where students where allowed > maximum freedom,would Summerhill be more demonstrative > of human reality than the controlled contingency paradigm of Walden Two? Skinner (and I) would say that both systems are equally determined. The only question is whether we acknowledge and balance the causes (as in the counter control built into Walden II) or pretend that it doesn't exist and suffer the consequences. > Michael "uncentric" Sylvester,PhD > Daytona Beach,Florida Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=3321 or send a blank email to leave-3321-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
