Word: walden
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Dostoevsky is to the point in discussing Skinner, partly because Skinner quotes him often, partly because much of Skinner is reminiscent of Dostoevsky. Skinner, in fact, is reminiscent of many writers, as one might expect of the author of Walden Two. Skinner's knowledge and use of literature is wide and impressive, and Skinner himself is an accomplished writer. Like most writers, he is endowed with a cosmic dream, a vision of a perfect universe, and, like many writers, he is sure that he has discovered how to create...
Whatever its drawbacks and inconveniences, however, the Afro has served the black woman well, reinforcing her ego, emphasizing her new "black is beautiful" philosophy and preparing the way for the bold hair styles that she is now adopting. That new outlook is succinctly-and bluntly-expressed by Barbara Walden, whose line of cosmetics for blacks is marketed across the nation: "Before the Afro the black woman was always embarrassed about her kinked-up hair. Wearing the Afro has helped to achieve a freer feeling about herself...
Especially life at Twin Oaks. The favorite sports are "cooperation volleyball" and skinny-dipping in the South Anna River?false modesty is another of the sins that are not reinforced?and there is plenty of folk singing and dancing. In a departure from Skinner's rather puritanical Walden Two, sex is considered, as one member put it, a "pleasant pastime, like anything else." Adds Kat: "We don't have a very high opinion of marriage?it often becomes possessive. We do have a high regard for what Skinner calls 'abiding affection...
...jobs and buy their food at the market. The community's chief source of income is the sale of hammocks stitched together in Harmony, but it is not enough to make ends meet; several members are forced to take outside jobs in Richmond and Charlottesville?a direct contradiction to Walden Two's basic premise that all time should be spent in a totally controlled environment...
While it is still considerably poorer than Walden Two, Twin Oaks has gone farther toward the goal of behavioral control than might have seemed reasonably possible. It is too soon, however, to call the commune much more than a fascinating experiment...