Walden Two

The operant conditioning chamber (also known as the Skinner box) created by B. F. Skinner would be enough to assure fame for the American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. This renaissance man is also a novelist. Having recently read Walden, I decided to take on this “controversial novel”. Technocrats of an apparently unexciting alternative 40s American decide on a lark to visit a self-sustaining commune, Walden Two. The productivity and happiness of citizens in this community is far greater than in the outside world because the residents practice scientific social planning and use operant conditioning in raising their children. Walden Two, like Henry David Thoreau, champions a lifestyle that does show more not support war or foster competition and social strife. It encourages a lifestyle of minimal consumption, rich social relationships, personal happiness, satisfying work and leisure. Unlike thorough, the community is not about one man’s solitude or a rejection of modern technology. Quite the opposite. (In 1967, Kat Kinkade founded the Twin Oaks Community, using Walden Two as a blueprint. The community still exists and continues to use the Planner-Manager system and other aspects described in Skinner's book.) Rather than "Walden Two", I think this book would be better named "The Republic Two", since the scale and approach has more to do with The Republic. As Will Durant says in The Story of Philosophy, "...policies should be administered by officials specifically prepared for the purpose, than by men who stumble out of commerce or manufacturing into political office without any training in the arts of is statesmanship." Skinner's Planner-Managers are more akin to the Philosopher-King guardians of Plato than Thoreau's self-sufficient loner.

The visiting group seems split in their opinions and a friendly fascism of the founder seems darker in this outburst on refuting the value of historical context:

"Are you saying that you gain no perspective-I mean, no detached
opinion-from a sense of history?"

"I mean that and more. Nothing confuses our evaluation of the present more than a sense of history-unless it's a sense of destiny. Your Hitlers are the men who use history to real advantage. It's exactly what they need. It obfuscates every attempt to get a clear appreciation of the present.

"Race, family, ancestor worship-these are the handmaidens of history, and we should have learned to beware of them by now. What we give our young people in Walden Two is a grasp of the current forces which a culture must deal with. None of your myths, none of your heroes-no history, no destiny-simply the Now! The present is the thing. It's the only thing we can deal
with, anyway, in a scientific way. But we've got a long way from the dictator.

Some parts of the founder’s philosophy seem calculated to offend some, such as finding autocratic powers in turning the other cheek:

"No, accident. Jesus discovered one principle because it had immediate consequences, and he got another thrown in for good measure.”

I began to see light.

"You mean the principle of love your enemies'?'' I
said.

"Exactly! To 'do good to those who despitefully use you' has two unrelated consequences. You gain the peace of mind we talked about the other day. Let the stronger man push you around-at least you avoid the torture of your own rage. That's the immediate consequence. What an astonishing discovery it must have been to find that in the long run you could control the stronger man in the same way!"

There is a hopefully benevolent paternalism here,

"The question is: Can men live in freedom and peace? And the answer is: Yes, if we can build a social structure which will satisfy the needs of everyone and in which everyone will want to observe the supporting code. But so far this has 'been achieved only in Walden Two. Your ruthless accusations to the contrary, Mr. Castle, this is the freest place on earth. And it is free precisely because we make no use of force or the threat of force. Every bit of our research, from the nursery through the psychological management of our adult membership, is directed toward that end-to exploit every alternative to forcible control. By skillful planning, by a wise choice of techniques we increase the feeling of freedom.

"It's not planning which infringes upon freedom, but planning which uses force. A sense of freedom was practically unknown in the planned society of Nazi Germany, because the planners made a fantastic use of force and the threat of force.

"No, Mr. Castle, when a science of behavior has once been achieved, there's no alternative to a planned society. We can't leave mankind to an accidental or biased control. But by using the principle of positive reinforcement-carefully avoiding force or the threat of force-we can preserve a personal sense of freedom."

Still, even Utopia needs its sheep. The practical commune is a subculture, needing larger culture to survive not really even an alternative culture or model for society at large.

"Suppose we need experts. Why not elect them?"

“For a very simple reason. The people are in no position to evaluate experts. And elected experts are never able to act as they think best. They can't experiment. The amateur doesn't appreciate the need for experimentation. He wants his expert to know. And he's utterly incapable of sustaining the period of doubt during which an experiment works itself out. The experts must either disguise their experiments and pretend to know the outcome in advance or stop experimenting altogether and struggle to maintain the status quo."

Skinner’s vision is an improved democracy at a time when Socialism held broad appeal (Looking Backward: 2000-1887 is referred to, along with other Utopian works):

"The government of Walden Two," he continued, "has the virtues of democracy, but none of the defects. It's much closer to the theory or intent of democracy than the actual practice in America today. The will of the people is carefully ascertained. We have no election campaigns
to falsify issues or obscure them with emotional appeals, but a careful study of the satisfaction of the membership is made. Every member has a direct channel through which he may protest to the Managers or even the Planners. And these protests are taken as seriously as the pilot of an airplane takes a sputtering engine…

Ultimately, this is a controlled experiment, and an experiment of control that is both complete and gentle:

"What is love,,' he said, with a shrug, "except another name for the use of positive reinforcement?"
it Or vice versa," I said.

Definitely, a thought-provoking work and an interesting way to present a community blueprint. show less

This book has two target audiences, really, and the quality varies strongly depending on where you fall.

As a fiction reader, this book falls short in so many, many ways. Characters are merely loudspeakers for the author, going so far as to be named after him. Most characters, while having distinct viewpoints and personalities, are one-dimensional. There is no discernible plot whatsoever. And I mean none. The plot is the same as a virtual tour on an apartment website. As this is a novel of a utopia, the flavor is bland. Everything is perfect for the residents of Walden Two. You almost resent them. I was bored, despite the brisk pace.

As a behavior analyst, this novel is almost pornographic. This novel is Skinner's dreamworld, a perfect show more application of successful behavior analysis to a voluntary community of a variety of educated persons. Its moving. Its beautiful. It is almost overwhelmingly optimistic and positive. It even supplies research ideas.

If you are a behavior analyst, you've probably read this already.
If you are someone with a passing interest in aba and an open mind, give it a whirl.
For anyone else, please, stay away. For your own sake. show less

This novel is the exploration of what might happen if a group of people chose to take Thoreau's advice and learn to live like he did - minimalistic and off the land. The thoughtful and contemplative ideas raised in the book contain references to Veblem's Theory of the Leisure Class, child-raising, Malthus on birth-control, identification in psychology to do with childhood aspirations (wanting to be like father or mother).

I liked the way the two university professors investigating the new community had contrasting opinions - the philosopher reasons where the psychologist experiments.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner incorporates his own ideas into the novel by questioning the living practices, the personal initiative, the techniques and show more engineering practices used to shape the behaviour of the community. The principle of positive reinforcement in a non-competitive culture to achieve a personal sense of freedom. The science of behaviour. "Experimentation with life - could anything be more fascinating?"
Trying to discover the original nature of man; basic psychological characteristics of human behaviour, inherited characteristics, the possibility of modifying them, a science of behaviour. The hunch is to develop techniques of psychological control to discover and cultivate special abilities - better artists, better craftsmen, better behaviourists.

Bibliographical references of Morris' News From Nowhere, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, Bellamy's Looking Backward, and of course Walden by Thoreau. show less

A behavioral psychologist imagines a utopia based on principles of positive reinforcement and training people to act in a way that benefits the community. Professor Burris narrates for us when he and some friends visit his old colleague Frazier, the founder of Walden Two. Each character is on varying levels of acceptance, as Frazier expounds on his Utopia; Castle, in particular, remains a determined skeptic, while Burris finds himself mediating between Castle and Frazier.

I was rather disappointed by this book. It was a fictional way of promoting Skinner's ideas, and there's no story outside of that, only Frazier promoting while Castle digs his heels in further. I remain unconvinced that it could work, and found myself getting annoyed show more that ultimately Frazier's reasoning was, "Well, you see it working before you" as he led his charges around Walden Two, when I don't know of any such successful community. Also, Skinner is a strict behaviorist and doesn't give much credence to the "nature" or genetic side of psychology. show less

B. F. Skinner's classic about a modern utopia, run according to scientific theories of behaviorism, is an appalling account of how fragile modern concepts of human rights and individuality can be in the face of some theories about the best way to organize society for the maximum efficiency. But it is certainly fascinating reading, and should be perused if only so the reader can gather ammunition against the arguments of the behaviorists.

I first heard of this book while reading a paper comparing it to A Clockwork Orange and became interested in finding it after that. I came across the book at a sale the English department of my university was having that I had volunteered for. Before starting it, however, I felt in necessary to read the original Walden in order to have a complete understanding of the themes I would be dealing with. I highly recommend to anyone who plans on reading this to read the original Walden. It isn't entirely necessary, but it will give the reader a basis of understanding over many of the subjects covered in the novel.

An enormous chunk of this book consists of the creator of the community, Frazier, describing what Walden Two is and how it show more outshines modern government and societal standings through behavior modification and a genuine reflection of natural human laws. He explains these aspects to the narrator, a philosophy professor by the name of Burris, along with his colleagues that join him through the tour of the town. Castle, another philosophy professor, Rodge and Steve, who work for the military, and their respective girlfriends Barbara and Mary. These characters cover different opinions over the community for Frazier to answer at a level of confidence that suggests bragging, but later becomes a little more fleshed out.

If you're looking for a gripping story with interesting characters and an explosive plot, I will have to ask you to turn away from this book. This story's purpose is not to entertain like traditional science fiction but instead to describe a hypothetical community that one would dare call a "perfect haven." Skinner's ability for scientific and cultural detail paints this town much deeper than what lies on the surface. It serves as a different look from our current standing of a community and has caused me to question aspects of the education system and behavioral understanding in our country even more than before. Again, it isn't the most fulfilling read, but it exists for the reflection of your own community lifestyle, and in that it succeeds. show less

Hai que recoñecer que engancha e algúns temas de organización da comunidade como o reparto das cargas de traballo, o deseño dos obxectos cotiáns e as implicacións do deseño arquitectónico dan pé a reflexión. Polo resto non deixa de ser unha noveliña máis ou menos aquelada que xira en torno ao prometedor potencial de cambio do conductismo que foi xa desbotado/superado.