Matthew Israel

Matthew Lewis Israel (born May 27, 1933 a device used by the center on disabled students, and condemned as torture by advocacy groups and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture.

As a freshman in college, Israel read B. F. Skinner's novel, Walden Two, in which the heroes build a utopia by conditioning the residents of a commune through the behaviorist principles of reward and punishment. Israel said that reading Walden Two was like a "religious conversion" for him. After reading the book, Israel devoted himself to making the utopia described in it a reality. The school has since been condemned for torture by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture.

Biography Early life and education In 1950, Israel enrolled at Harvard University as a Fine Arts major, having found "traditional psychology difficult to take". In his freshman year he took a class in behaviorism with B. F. Skinner to get a required science credit. During this time he read Skinner's book, Walden Two, in which the heroes build a utopia by conditioning the residents of a commune through the behaviorist principles of reward and punishment. I knew what I wanted to do with my life... I wanted to start a real utopian behavioral community.—Matthew Israel

Attempts to build a utopia After graduating from Harvard in 1960, Israel started a firm for the design and marketing of B. F. Skinner's teaching machines, with the hope of raising enough capital to establish a community in the form of Walden Two. The firm was unsuccessful, and after several years he closed it down and went on with his plans to build the community anyway. In 1966, Israel attended a Walden Two conference, where he shared ideas with Walden Two enthusiasts about how to start the behaviorist utopia.

In a correspondence with a couple named Dan and Marnie who were interested in the project, Israel suggested that Marnie would be expected to have sex with him if they joined the commune. After a series of letters between Israel and Dan, in which Marnie's opinion on the matter was not at any point discussed, the couple decided not to join.

In 1967, Israel tried for the first time to build a utopian commune modeled after Walden Two by starting a small communal house in Arlington. The school has since been condemned for torture by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture.

Paul Touchette, an autism expert and behaviorist who trained under B. F. Skinner, has expressed disapproval of Israel's methods.