The Sword and Laser discussion

At first glance, it's easy to dismiss Flenser as yet another example of Space Hitler. There are certainly similarities between his empire and Nazi Germany, but there's actually another aspect to him that's easy to miss.

The verb "to flense" refers to the process of peeling skin and blubber off whales. -- in other words, Flenser is a skinner. His name is a reference to the pioneering psychologist B.F. Skinner, whose work focused on the ways in which the human mind could be conditioned through positive and negative reinforcement (similar to Pavlov's dogs, but Skinner looked at ways to influence proactive behavior instead of merely reactive).

Skinner himself always remained within the bounds of ethical experimentation, but the implication of his ideas often had disturbing implications, particularly his novel Walden Two, which depicts a supposedly utopian society built upon his psychological theories, but which many readers have found to be terrifying, particularly in its deconstruction of free will. Another of Skinner's works, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, argues that freedom is illusory and unnecessary to the functioning of a healthy society.

In many respects then, Flenser is what Skinner might've been if he'd been unbound from any moral constraints. Steel's construction of Amdi in particular bears a strong resemblance to Skinner's ideas translated to Tinish psychology. Rather than Space Nazis, the Flenserists are evil psychologists trying to create better people though the unhindered application of reason.

Sean wrote: "At first glance, it's easy to dismiss Flenser as yet another example of Space Hitler. There are certainly similarities between his empire and Nazi Germany, but there's actually another aspect to hi..."

Evil psychologists? I thought that was L. Ron Hubbard's thing :D

But yeah, absolutely. Flenser is more of a Space Mengele, if anything.