When BF Skinner wrote the book Walden II in the late 1940's he set off a controversy. The book called for a community living utopia with socialist ideals. Skinner himself describes the community as a type of non-violent anarchy. One of the most controversial issues was the call to disband the traditional family and involve the community in child rearing.
While I don't entirely agree with Skinners book I think the concepts are intriguing and worth thinking about. If anyone gets a chance to read this interesting book you will be greatly rewarded. The book's concepts are extensions of what we will learn about radical behaviorism in our text book and lectures.
While I don't entirely agree with Skinners book I think the concepts are intriguing and worth thinking about. If anyone gets a chance to read this interesting book you will be greatly rewarded. The book's concepts are extensions of what we will learn about radical behaviorism in our text book and lectures.
Very nice. So this is where we make our three posts and final project posts? All of ours post go on your blog as new posts?
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily agree with disbanning the traditional family, but I do agree with Skinner's outlook on raising children through a community. The saying, "It takes a village..." isn't so far from the truth. While I have strong beliefs about how I want my children to be raised, the people that surround me definitely play a role in how I choose to go about raising them. For instance, I don't want my boys hitting each other and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get them to stop being physical. I have friends and neighbors that have children, with plenty of advice to give on handling the given situation. Take it one step further and the Internet is a haven for message boards and parenting groups that focus on child rearing, ready and willing to dole out advice on demand. There is a need for traditional parents, to an extent. I also feel that there is a significant need for the community's ideas on how to walk away with the most positive outcome.
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