Walden Two

De: B. F. Skinner

Narrado por: Robert McCollum

From author and psychologist B. F. Skinner, regarded by many as the most important and influential psychologist since Freud, comes Walden Two. This fictional outline of a modern utopia has been a center of controversy ever since its publication in 1948. Set in the United States, it depicts a society in which human problems are solved by a scientific technology of human conduct. The novel describes an experimental community called "Walden Two", whose members are happy, productive, and creative; their happiness derives from non-nuclear family life; amazingly limited work hours; communal child-raising; free affection; the creation of art, music, and literature; opportunity for games of chess and tennis; and ample rest, food, and sleep. It's a utopia inspired by the experience described in Henry David Thoreau's Walden, but with company. Fans of philosophical writers like Ayn Rand or Karl Marx and imagined utopia's like Aldous Huxley's Island will enjoy broadening their minds with the challenging ideas described by Skinner in this classic novel.

©1948 B.F. Skinner (P)2016 Audiobooks.com Publishing

As relevant today as when it was first published

I’m a fan of dystopian literature and a Psychologist, and Skinner was once my department’s head. Always wanted to read this, but never got around to it. Skinner presents here a well articulated/reasoned argument for communal living based on applied behavioral science. This book stands the test of time, despite some of its “quaint” historical references.

Outstanding

It's a long book, but it gives a great example of a world designed through operant conditioning.

interesting from an historical perspective

I struggled to finish this one. I'm in graduate school for Applied Behavior Analysis (the field pioneered by B.F. Skinner) and I thought this would be a worthwhile listen. While it was interesting at parts, It was overall fairly dry and not a captivating read. I found the whole thing tedious.

A must

A must for all Behavior Analysts! This is a quintessential story for all of us who want to understand just how Skinner saw the world.

Thought provoking and STILL relevant

Would love to have more of B.F. Skinner's work on Audible. In many ways this content was ahead of its time. Perhaps that's because true science is timeless!

Great utopia book!

it's a very accessible story about what could be possible if Behavioral science were fully employed in a society, and gives an interesting perspective on the world view of BF Skinner.

Interesting read

Worth a listen for a perspective shift. Not saying I agree with skinner’s rosey assessment of how he chooses to define utopia, but as freedom is an illusion and we are presently living in a dystopia, perhaps a shift in a different reality experience is due based on principles of positive reinforcement. Don’t quote me!

A curious and stimulating read well worth the time

I bought the book with curiosity about the author's view of an alternative society. I was especially satisfied to hear his take on the topics of behavioral engineering, the structure of today's society with its benefits and drawbacks, and the apparent debate between the view point of a modern philosopher and the one of a modern scientist. I felt shivers during the heated discussion about history, heroes and personal benefit.

On the performance of the narrator I have slight remarks - it was rather strange hearing a male voice narrating the female characters as well. I would prefer listening to two narrators - male and female - to bring more authenticity to the characters. Other than that, it was an excellent performance.

The story and character development were not really the central idea of the book. It was rather difficult appealing to any of the characters, but having listened to the whole book, I would assume this was one of the author's goals.

I would advise future listeners to first acquire a basic understanding of the methods of science before listening to the book. It holds nothing sacred and questions core societal structures like family, religion and government. Many ideas may be difficult to grasp if the listener is not used to questioning everything.

To finalize, I felt great satisfaction with the content of the book. I will surely return to many key topics. The author took great care to describe in depth both opposing perspectives. Well worth my time and money.

Enjoyable 9 hours of listening

Very calming to listen to during days of thunderstorms in our area. The book was listened to by my animals and myself and kept a calm setting throughout the evenings.

I enjoyed it!

Ok, so… que f you are expecting to read a fiction masterpiece this book falls very short. However the piece is very fluid, even when 90% of it expository.

As someone who is interested in behavioural science I found the audiobook very interesting, but I did find lots of loopholes in how a community like that would work…

Characters are flat, but very well developed, they have their unique voices and I found it funny that Skinner referrs to himself slightly.

I enjoyed the narrator a lot, I think it helps bringing fluidity to the piece, however there are lots of bugs in the file.

Skinner is still a god to me, but I prefer “Beyond Freedom and Dignity” by far, there I agreed a 100% with him.