We Shouldn't Teach Great Books; We Should

It Has Always Been The Task Of Formal Education To Set Up Behavior Which Would Prove Useful Or Enjoyable Later In A Student's Life.

We Have Seen That In Certain Respects Operant Reinforcement Resembles The Natural Selection Of Evolutionary Theory. Just As Genetic Characteristics Which Arise As Mutations Are Selected Or Discarded By Their Consequences, So Novel Forms Of Behavior Are Selected Or Discarded Through Reinforcement.

It Is A Mistake To Suppose That The Whole Issue Is How To Free Man. The Issue Is To Improve The Way In Which He Is Controlled.

In The World At Large We Seldom Vote For A Principle Or A Given State Of Affairs. We Vote For A Man Who Pretends To Believe In That Principle Or Promises To Achieve That State. We Don't Want A Man, We Want A Condition Of Peace And Plenty-- Or, It May Be, War And Want-- But We Must Vote For A Man.

A Person Who Has Been Punished Is Not Thereby Simply Less Inclined To Behave In A Given Way; At Best, He Learns How To Avoid Punishment.