Ninety years ago, Bertrand Russell wrote a book entitled The Scientific Outlook. In it, the philosopher and sometimes imperial grand strategist made the point that society has become far too complex to be left to democratic institutions. In the modern age of advanced warfare, only a scientific dictatorship could be trusted to lead society, while the thoughtless masses of human cattle should be given the illusion of democracy and freedom. Sovereign nation states must be superseded by world government and thus two parallel cultures, two educations and two moralities must be shaped.
"In a typical case of oligarchical projection, Skinner says clearly: “we must remember that wars begin in the minds of men, that there is something suicidal in man- a death instinct perhaps- which leads to war, and that man is aggressive by nature”."
In your quote here, Skinner is describing the beliefs of a mentalist -- a person who attributes behavior to inner drives (which we cannot observe or measure). It's an incredibly sloppy misreading, because Skinner would not describe humans as motivated by a "death instinct," which is a psychoanalytic term and not consistent with behaviorism.
Matthew, when I got my Psych Degree at Temple University in '72-'74 a required course was Jean Piaget and his writing and his thinking. One of the other students in the class was one of these Skinner Box Zealots who clashed all the time with the Professor, who was from the Piaget School of thought.
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"In a typical case of oligarchical projection, Skinner says clearly: “we must remember that wars begin in the minds of men, that there is something suicidal in man- a death instinct perhaps- which leads to war, and that man is aggressive by nature”."
In your quote here, Skinner is describing the beliefs of a mentalist -- a person who attributes behavior to inner drives (which we cannot observe or measure). It's an incredibly sloppy misreading, because Skinner would not describe humans as motivated by a "death instinct," which is a psychoanalytic term and not consistent with behaviorism.
You can check the text yourself:
https://archive.org/stream/Beyond_Freedom_and_Dignity/Beyond%20Freedom%20%26%20Dignity%20-%20Skinner_djvu.txt
Matthew, when I got my Psych Degree at Temple University in '72-'74 a required course was Jean Piaget and his writing and his thinking. One of the other students in the class was one of these Skinner Box Zealots who clashed all the time with the Professor, who was from the Piaget School of thought.