The first chapter deals with this technology of behavior and how it could be used to improve our culture. Chapters two and three discuss the major issues of freedom and dignity. Autonomous man believes in less control and the freedom to make choices. All organisms are controlled by the environment. Skinner suggests that a person may think that he can determine what he wants but evidence points in the other direction - a person's wants are externally determined.
Conditions give rise to wants.
So doing what one wants to do turns out to be an illusion. Skinner believes that a person is least free or dignified when he is under threat of punishment. He describes how our society relies heavily upon punishment and less effective methods such as permissiveness, maieutics, guidance, and the manipulation of minds to control behavior. According to Skinner, the trouble with punishment is that its desirable effects are often of short duration, while its undesirable effects may be lingering. Chapter six deals with man's values.