Chapters 1-4 Summary

In Walden Two, B.F. Skinner makes a case for behaviorism and "social engineering" as the solution to many of the world's problems. Frazier, a psychologist interested in the practical applications of psychology to real-world problems, creates a communal social experiment called Walden Two. In the book, he leads his former colleague Professor Burris and Burris's friends through Walden Two, explaining how Frazier's theories have created a utopian society.

Professor Burris, a professor of psychology, is the narrator of the story. As the story begins, Rogers, an old student of Burris's, and his friend Jamnik visit Burris's office. The two men have recently gotten out of the army after World War II. They're not sure what to do with themselves now that they're out of the service, and they're interested in trying to find a new kind of social system to...