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A Matter of Consequences
A third and final autobiographical volume by the controversial psychologist and philosopher delineates his methods and philosophical principles, defends his behavioral philosophy and concerns against detractors, and discusses his family, interests, and relationships
441 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 1983
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About the author
B.F. Skinner
69 books496 followersBurrhus Frederic Skinner was a highly influential American psychologist, author, inventor, advocate for social reform and poet. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. He invented the operant conditioning chamber, innovated his own philosophy of science called Radical Behaviorism, and founded his own school of experimental research psychology—the experimental analysis of behavior. His analysis of human behavior culminated in his work Verbal Behavior, which has recently seen enormous increase in interest experimentally and in applied settings. He discovered and advanced the rate of response as a dependent variable in psychological research. He invented the cumulative recorder to measure rate of responding as part of his highly influential work on schedules of reinforcement. In a recent survey, Skinner was listed as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century. He was a prolific author, publishing 21 books and 180 articles.
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September 11, 2024
THE THIRD AND FINAL VOLUME OF SKINNER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist, social philosopher, and author. He was a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974, and perhaps the most influential behaviorist of the 20th century. His most famous books are 'Verbal Behavior,' 'Beyond Freedom & Dignity' and 'Walden Two. 'The other volumes are 'Particulars of My Life' and 'The Shaping of a Behaviorist'.
This 1983 concluding volume (as with the previous two volumes) includes little "inner" insights about Skinner (in accordance with his behaviorist philosophy); he says, "A precise explanation of human behavior was not to be expected for a long time, but we gained nothing by turning to explanatory fictions like ... the mental life of the 'inner man.' The explanation would be found, not ... IN OURSELVES, but in the world in which we lived---in the environment responsible for the ... shaping and maintenance of the behavior of the individual." (Pg. 17)
Later, he explains, "I also do not think feelings are important... Rather than tell my readers how I felt, I have left them to respond as I myself may have responded." (Pg. 399) On the other hand, the book also recounts incidents such as him playing organ during singing Christmas carols at faculty parties at Harvard (Pg. 5).
In response to a telegram asking whether Walden Two "was written satirically," he replied, "Frazier's views essentially my own---more so now than when I wrote." (Pg. 9) Of his daughter Debbie's time in his infamous "baby tender/Air Crib," he says, "The dire predictions of what would happen to Debbie when she was no longer spending much of her time in 'the box' were not confirmed. On the contrary, she was spared many of the usual troubles of childhood. At six she had never had a cold..." (Pg. 22) He says of the Twin Oaks Community, "It was too small to be very much like Walden Two, but the point of my book had been experimentation and change, and I was encouraged." (Pg. 342)
In a 1950 lecture, he asserted, "The issue is not between planning and laissez-faire... The main question... is who is to do the planning... There is only one answer to the question Who is to control? He will control who controls. The prospect need not be frightening... Physical restraint and the use of the power to punish are not ultimately advantageous... One hopeful possibility is that only the culture which fosters an energetic science of behavior will be in a position to control... It can also be argued that the best techniques of control are those which work to the advantage of the controllee. This fact in itself is some guarantee against misuse." (Pg. 99)
Later, he stated, "I remained, of course, primarily an environmentalist. No matter how important the heredity of an organism in determining its behavior, it could not be changed after conception." (Pg. 103)
He explained, "I was not denying the existence of any event within a person's body; the important thing was not the act of feeling but what was felt... We did not need to wait for neurophysiology or biochemistry to explain why people felt what they felt without talking about a mind... The psychosomatic argument was incomplete: If a chronic anxiety explained ulcers or asthma, what explained the anxiety? If it was some part of the patient's history, then that was the explanation of the ulcers or asthma. The only way to get at a supposed psychic condition was through the environment, and that was where an experimental analysis of behavior came into play." (Pg. 117)
In his famous 1956 debate with Carl Rogers, Skinner said, "If the advent of a powerful science of behavior causes trouble, it will not be because science itself is inimical to human welfare but because older conceptions have not yielded easily or gracefully. We expect resistance to new techniques of control from those who have heavy investments in the old, but we have no reason to help them preserve a series of principles which are not ends in themselves but rather outmoded means to an end. What is needed is a new conception of human behavior which is compatible with the implications of a scientific analysis. All men control and are controlled." (Pg. 121-122)
He asserted, "I felt about cognitive science very much as I felt about extra-sensory perception. Rather than spend time spotting its flaws, I was inclined to ask why anyone believed in it. I felt the same way about the religions of the world; the question was not whether they were true but why people believed... Mentalists were superstitious in the sense that, having observed various states of their bodies just as they were about to behave, they concluded that the states caused the behavior." (Pg. 367-368)
He admits, "My analysis of the role of the individual in 'Beyond Freedom and Dignity' was so convincing that by the time I had finished the book I actually did not feel that I had written it. I do not mean that I attributed it to some mystical 'other one.' ... My book was the inevitable consequence of what had happened to me and of what I had read." (Pg. 409)
Skinner was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century; his autobiography is important material for anyone studying his thought, or behaviorism in general.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist, social philosopher, and author. He was a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974, and perhaps the most influential behaviorist of the 20th century. His most famous books are 'Verbal Behavior,' 'Beyond Freedom & Dignity' and 'Walden Two. 'The other volumes are 'Particulars of My Life' and 'The Shaping of a Behaviorist'.
This 1983 concluding volume (as with the previous two volumes) includes little "inner" insights about Skinner (in accordance with his behaviorist philosophy); he says, "A precise explanation of human behavior was not to be expected for a long time, but we gained nothing by turning to explanatory fictions like ... the mental life of the 'inner man.' The explanation would be found, not ... IN OURSELVES, but in the world in which we lived---in the environment responsible for the ... shaping and maintenance of the behavior of the individual." (Pg. 17)
Later, he explains, "I also do not think feelings are important... Rather than tell my readers how I felt, I have left them to respond as I myself may have responded." (Pg. 399) On the other hand, the book also recounts incidents such as him playing organ during singing Christmas carols at faculty parties at Harvard (Pg. 5).
In response to a telegram asking whether Walden Two "was written satirically," he replied, "Frazier's views essentially my own---more so now than when I wrote." (Pg. 9) Of his daughter Debbie's time in his infamous "baby tender/Air Crib," he says, "The dire predictions of what would happen to Debbie when she was no longer spending much of her time in 'the box' were not confirmed. On the contrary, she was spared many of the usual troubles of childhood. At six she had never had a cold..." (Pg. 22) He says of the Twin Oaks Community, "It was too small to be very much like Walden Two, but the point of my book had been experimentation and change, and I was encouraged." (Pg. 342)
In a 1950 lecture, he asserted, "The issue is not between planning and laissez-faire... The main question... is who is to do the planning... There is only one answer to the question Who is to control? He will control who controls. The prospect need not be frightening... Physical restraint and the use of the power to punish are not ultimately advantageous... One hopeful possibility is that only the culture which fosters an energetic science of behavior will be in a position to control... It can also be argued that the best techniques of control are those which work to the advantage of the controllee. This fact in itself is some guarantee against misuse." (Pg. 99)
Later, he stated, "I remained, of course, primarily an environmentalist. No matter how important the heredity of an organism in determining its behavior, it could not be changed after conception." (Pg. 103)
He explained, "I was not denying the existence of any event within a person's body; the important thing was not the act of feeling but what was felt... We did not need to wait for neurophysiology or biochemistry to explain why people felt what they felt without talking about a mind... The psychosomatic argument was incomplete: If a chronic anxiety explained ulcers or asthma, what explained the anxiety? If it was some part of the patient's history, then that was the explanation of the ulcers or asthma. The only way to get at a supposed psychic condition was through the environment, and that was where an experimental analysis of behavior came into play." (Pg. 117)
In his famous 1956 debate with Carl Rogers, Skinner said, "If the advent of a powerful science of behavior causes trouble, it will not be because science itself is inimical to human welfare but because older conceptions have not yielded easily or gracefully. We expect resistance to new techniques of control from those who have heavy investments in the old, but we have no reason to help them preserve a series of principles which are not ends in themselves but rather outmoded means to an end. What is needed is a new conception of human behavior which is compatible with the implications of a scientific analysis. All men control and are controlled." (Pg. 121-122)
He asserted, "I felt about cognitive science very much as I felt about extra-sensory perception. Rather than spend time spotting its flaws, I was inclined to ask why anyone believed in it. I felt the same way about the religions of the world; the question was not whether they were true but why people believed... Mentalists were superstitious in the sense that, having observed various states of their bodies just as they were about to behave, they concluded that the states caused the behavior." (Pg. 367-368)
He admits, "My analysis of the role of the individual in 'Beyond Freedom and Dignity' was so convincing that by the time I had finished the book I actually did not feel that I had written it. I do not mean that I attributed it to some mystical 'other one.' ... My book was the inevitable consequence of what had happened to me and of what I had read." (Pg. 409)
Skinner was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century; his autobiography is important material for anyone studying his thought, or behaviorism in general.
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