http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm5FGrQEyBY
Skinner believed that with the right social engineering we can create a new bread of human being, that by using the right tools we can control or predict behavior. He also believed that you could use this to create a greater humanity. Skinner believed that environment was everything, by training pigeons in the right environment he believed that he had them ready to guide missiles for the military, the only problem is at the time the military had no missiles. Skinner also proved that when a behavior was rewarded the action will be repeated, which is known as Operant Conditioning.
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Social Engineering, create a greater humanity, control behavior? Sounds a lot like the ideas that precede eugenics programs. In Fact, 2 of Skinner's books, Walden Two and Beyond Freedom and Dignity, clearly point out his beliefs that man has no soul, rights, intrinsic value, or free will; his ideas of a perfect race of humans, eugenics, and communism. Not only are these the ideas of the behaviorist philosophy, but also the backbone of communism, naziism, despotism, and the like.
ReplyDeleteIt seems strange that many of the proponents of such evil are the same people that are held in such high esteem for their contributions to humanity, or does it?
I think the type of environment that you grow up in has a lot to how your personality will be. as we grow older though i think you can change as you become more aware of whats around you.
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