Beyond Freedom and Dignity

Skinner, B.F.

ISBN 10: 0394425553 / ISBN 13: 9780394425559

Published by Knopf, 1971

About this Item

Signed on front free endpaper-signature only, when he appeared in Santa Barbara in 1972. Former owner name under front flap, and date he appeared written in ink beneath his signature. Foxing to top text block and fore edge. One inch tear to jacket. FIFTH PRINTING, October 1971. All details visible in photos.

Seller Inventory # 166-BF

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Beyond Freedom and Dignity
• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication Date: 1971
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394425553
• ISBN 13: 9780394425559
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

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