A Discussion of BF Skinner's Revolutionary Work "Beyond Freedom and Dignity"

Abstract
This paper was written in order to discuss BF Skinner's book "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" as well as to identify and explore the themes that Skinner presents within his writing. Undoubtedly, Skinner's views are sometimes controversial and go against the conventional wisdom of the psychiatric community, but that is exactly why research is being done about him even decades after his death. At the conclusion of this research, it is hoped that the reader will have greater insight into Skinner's mindset and a better appreciation of "Beyond Freedom and Dignity".

A Synopsis of "Beyond Freedom and Dignity"
In 1971, Skinner wrote "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" as an answer to the problems of the modern world, including crime, poverty, violence, pollution and overpopulation; basically, the topics that have plagued mankind for ages, but really came to a head along with the social conscience and activities of the late 1960's and early 1970's. Skinner argues that the classic theories of freedom and dignity are outdated and no longer apply to the "modern scientific understanding of Man"(Skinner, 1971). As with so many of Skinner's studies and writings, within this book, he attempts to make the complex simple by reducing it to its most basic elements, combined and contrasted with the findings of the modern scientific community. A most interesting theory that Skinner puts forth in the book is the idea that, based upon his earlier research into animal motivation and control, that humans are essentially animals that could be controlled by using his previously discovered and published observations about the domination of animals through motivation and deprivation, subject to the same laws of stimulus-response that he observed in his "rat boxes", or what has come to be known as "Skinner Boxes" in psychological circles (Todd & Morris, 1995) .

In the book, Skinner denies the existence of a "human mind", personal responsibility and any type of "inner personality" (Skinner, 1971). To him, free will, thoughts, and emotions only "seem" to exist. He considers them to be cumbersome myths at best that only serve to hold back the human "animal" from its true purpose, which is to follow instincts, rather than free will. As an overall statement, it is fair to say that "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" set the stage for debate and discourse that continues even today, and has inspired the content of this paper. Within this psychological analysis and narrative, Skinner sets the stage for a discussion of the concepts of freedom and dignity Skinner's Concept of "Freedom" In discussing the concept of Freedom that Skinner presents in his book, it is interesting to consider Skinner's overall view of the nature of the thought processes of human beings, which sheds light on his dim view of Freedom.

Earlier in his career, Skinner wrote the following: "all of the behavior of animals - including humans - may be explained in terms of prior stimulation (the cause of "involuntary" behavior) and contingencies of reinforcement (the cause of "voluntary" behavior). All behavior usually considered to be caused by the mind may be reinterpreted in terms of the animal's reinforcement history and natural selection of its species. Mental terms are therefore not properly a part of psychology" (Funder, 2001). In translation, what Skinner is saying in the above quoted passage is that because everything that humans think, feel and desire is based on prior experiences and the efforts of others to shape one's thoughts an personality, no one is truly free, or has the "freedom" of self expression and self determination because even if the individual thinks that they are expressing freely, everything that they think, do and feel has been pre-packaged in their minds by someone else who served as a sort of puppet master who pulled the strings to make a certain event in one's life and destiny take place. This seems to oversimplify the concept, but also opens up a few tantalizing possibilities.

First, if no one is truly free, within this argument itself may lay the remedy for war. Without having the luxury of doing what one wants ultimately, in Skinner's view, fighting and dying for a cause is futile, as the fight is in pursuit of something that cannot ever be attained, even in victory. Second, without free will, no one can be held accountable for their actions, so in a negative sense, there is really no deterrent against one acting out in violence, as they have the ultimate defense that they were pre-destined to a certain type of behavior, and therefore cannot be blamed for actions. It is clear that Skinner's discussion and assertions about Freedom raise as many questions and disputes as they do to answer questions and resolve disputes. However, if Skinner sought to raise the consciousness of thinking people as a means of solutions to problems, rather than a prescribed remedy to problems, he has accomplished his goals in the book. Another key concept that Skinner takes on in "Beyond Freedom and Dignity", of course, is Dignity itself. This concept is worthy of discussion and analysis as well. Skinner's Concept of "Dignity" Echoing Skinner's mindset on the concepts of Freedom, his discussion of Dignity in his book "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" opens up the proverbial Pandora's Box within the psychological community.

Building upon his assertions that all human behavior is based upon stimuli from others and not based on any type of rational free thought or free will for that matter, Skinner believes that Dignity is not an emotion that the human has as a result of their own achievements or experiences, but rather as the result of the pre-determined elements that have shaped other aspects of their lives. Because Dignity is something that controls the behavior of the individual, Skinner argues in his book that Dignity "thus stands in the way of further human achievements"(Skinner, 1971). Loosely translated, what he is saying is that Dignity is an impediment to what humans can achieve because it inhibits them and prevents them from certain behaviors. As an opinion, Skinner seems to contradict himself here, because if no one is able to pursue their own destiny in the first place, it is inaccurate to state that Dignity impairs self destiny, because it was previously argued that there is none. Taking a liberal view of what Skinner intended in presenting his thoughts on Dignity, it is interesting to make the bold assumption that he once again is challenging the reader to think, question, and debate.

Skinner's overall view of humans as animals makes him a member and founding father if you will, of the school of Behaviorism, or Behavioral Psychology (Todd & Morris, 1995). A discussion of Behaviorism is useful at this point in order to understand Skinner's overall viewpoint, which shaped the theses of "Beyond Freedom and Dignity". Skinner and Behaviorism The concept of Behaviorism seems to unlock the mind of Skinner and show his innermost philosophy about human behavior. Skinner's outlook on Behaviorism holds that humans, like other "animals", are shaped merely by reinforcement (positive or negative, for better or worse) as well as instincts that have been honed over ages of evolution; as one can see, this philosophy overlaps the beliefs of Darwin, for example (Funder, 2001).

The bottom line on Skinner's viewpoint is his recurrent theme that we are what we are, not what we want to be. In all fairness, the approach of Behaviorism throws out any and all concepts of thoughts, reasoning, free will, conscience for bad behavior, etc, because as Skinner himself would likely assert, none of these things can be observed by a second party. However, there are many things that while not quantifiable, exist nonetheless. By asserting that essentially, human beings are on "automatic pilot" due to evolution, instinct, and conditioning, Skinner discounts the human experience and tends to cheapen society because by his rules, anyone can do what they wish, since they are not really responsible for their actions in the first place. This is a difficult point to dispute, but common sense seems to defeat it at face value, for without free thought and will, it seems likely that most of the art, music and science that has developed in the human race would just appear out of nowhere, because no one would have to think about anything in order for it to exist. Taking creative license and playing Devil's Advocate, if Skinner's ideas were accurate, it is fair to say that he would not be able to perform the experiments he did and reach the conclusions as a result because he would not be able to use the thought processes that he used to develop his theories. Skinner is very interesting because his findings also open up deep philosophical discussions, which are the content for other research at another time.

Conclusions
Based upon the previous research and discussion of Skinner's "Beyond Freedom and Dignity", as well as a look at his overall ideas and theories, there are some interesting conclusions that can be drawn in the closing of this paper. First, what is the true nature of Freedom? If it does not exist, as Skinner asserts, he has offered a solution to war, crime and violence as he intended to do in his book, because if no one is really free, the attainment of Freedom can never really occur and therefore, if people are oppressed, there is no point in creating violence and war to gain Freedom because of the fact that it cannot be found, does not exist, and cannot be attained at any price. Interestingly enough, or tragically depending upon how one looks at it, the millions, perhaps billions of humans who have died throughout the history of the world in the pursuit of Freedom have done so in the vain pursuit of a non-existent ghost. The possibilities opened up by Skinner are endless. Further, if Dignity does not exist, then poverty is fruitless, as a key part of the disapproval of poverty is that it demeans those who are poor. If, as Skinner asserts, there is no reason to feel shame, then the division between the "rich" and "poor" disappears, and all can live in harmony. In closing, "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" goes far beyond psychology, and enters into sociology, philosophy, and politics. If viewed within these parameters, it is a work of value to for generations to come.

References
Funder, D. C. (2001). Personality. 197.

Todd, J. T. & Morris, E. K. (Eds.). (1995). Modern Perspectives on B.F. Skinner and Contemporary Behaviorism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Skinner, B.F. (1971). Beyond Freedom and Dignity. New York: Knopf Publishers.

Skinner, B.F. (1976). About Behaviorism. Chicago: Vintage Books.