Walden Two

Walden Two was an imaginative book that created a world set aside from the real world that we know. The society was based on many of the theories of B.F. Skinner himself. It is believed that Skinner placed himself in the character of Professor Burris, a university professor who was in graduate school with T.E. Frazier. Throughout the novel, he exercises caution and common sense and represents a middle point between Frazier’s radical position and Castle’s reactionary one.

It is felt that the novel was written for Skinner’s own reasons. That he is writing the book to see the pro’s and the con’s of trying to form a perfect utopia. Since most of the book was written in the form of dialog, this helps Skinner lay out the reasons for each side. Many of his theories seem applicable. He describes many of the theories in great detail, and with much reason for each. Although Castle does not agree with almost any of the theories, often times ridiculing and manipulating Frazier, making Castle seem like the con side.

Skinner has an entire community at his disposal. Although Frazier does not realize it, he is a dictator. Playing God and not even realizing it. Yet, he seems to be playing a thoughtful and intelligent God at that. Th

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Not to mention the fact that later on in their training, a coin is flipped to see what side of the table gets to eat first, making the other side of the table have to sit there for an additional two to five minutes while watching the other side engulf their meals. For a newborn child, they had their own cubicle to sleep in, where the temperature was kept at a constant 88 degrees, which was thought to make the baby feel the most comfortable.

Another torturing thought would be to have a child have to hang a lollipop around their neck and not be allowed to eat it. The children also didn’t have just the parents taking care of them all the time, the child had every adult as a parent, and every adult was found to have every child as a son or daughter. This seeming to be a more relaxing and better learning environment, the student does not feel trapped by walls or desks. This makes me hold Skinner in the highest respect, to be able to write an entire book all on theories and to explain the reasoning for each. They inhabitants are also taught not to feel many other emotions, such as jealousy.

In Walden Two, there is no set age at which you can or cannot have a child. This greatly effects the outcomes of the community, making the community seem virtually fight free. Jealousy is probably the number one reason why people fight, so if the jealousy factor is removed completely, people can live in a risk feel environment. Of course the student still learned how to speak correctly and all of the other needs, but what

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they were skilled in, they focused their studies in that. It is not thought to be morally wrong to have a child at such an early age, even at the age of 16. Also, to tell the pro’s and the con’s of each of the topics with much depth for each. ” The student had the option of whether or not they wanted to learn anything else.

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Approximate Word count = 1141
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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