In “The Genocidal Killer in the Mirror”, Sartwell uses genocide as the main example of the result of obedience to authority- specifically bureaucratic. He suggests that history has proven this, using instances like that in Rwanda and Germany where, accordingly, increased state power and influence led to devastating death at the hands of civilians. He details the recipe used by such governments, telling how “it rewarded those who were zealous killers with houses or cars …” and “punished those who hesitated …” (Sartwell 2). This illustrates the extremity that Sartwell believes matters of obedience boil down to, and his claim that people will typically obey based on how those around them do - that their moral compasses are not willed enough to…
Most people would agree with doing something horrific to another person, since it is easier to conform, than to fight, people tend to protect themselves before protecting a stranger. Stanley Milgram put a study together to prove that Germans are more likely to be obedient to authority then American are. The study was called “If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would You? Probably.” Milgram explains the character aspects of why people listen to authority and why they afraid not to. Social structure and the organization of society have a powerful affect on people. Milgrams set out to New Haven to start the study ad later on planed to go to Germany to do the study on the society there.…
For this discussion, please review Solomon Asch’s (1958) study of conformity. The results of this study, demonstrate how many of the individual participants conformed to the group despite the fact that the group was clearly wrong, and the individuals were clearly right. In addition, watch the video on the ABC New Primetime: Milgram Experiment Update video. Through this experiment we observe how perceptions of authority directly influence obedience. For example, even when the action ordered by the authority figure caused physical harm, the participants were still obedient. What are some explanations for this type of behavior? Can you think of an example of when you disregarded your own desires or values for the sake of obedience or conformity?…
Obedience is a direct social influence where a person complies with orders without questioning a person with perceived authority and does a task voluntarily. In the presence of a person of authority, the said person has an option of either complying with orders they are given or to disobey, and as consequences may be unknown if they do not follow what they are asked to do, fear of punishment may influence the person to then respond by submitting to what they have been told to do.…
In this chapter on the research of obedience, studying the psychological actions and reactions, the implications brought forth are the surprising effects of simple commands and the subliminal influence. The articles “The Perils of Obedience”, by Stanley Milgram, and “Opinions and Social Pressure”, by Solomon E. Asch, both exhibit the traits of simple, ordinary test subjects following orders and actions by someone who is illustrated to have power or the general consensus but realistically do not.…
Module Overview: Part 1 Why people do harm to others? • Exposing the authoritarian personality • Just following orders? • Learning from watching Module Overview: Part 2 What determines human behaviour?…
Classification is the first step of genocide. People will begin to “...distinguish people into “us and them” by ethnicity, race, religion, or nationality: German and Jew...” (Genocide Watch- Ten Steps of Genocide). Hitler knew what his followers would look like: mainly blonde hair and blue eyes. They became to be known as the Aryan race. The Holocaust is very similar to the racial segregation of African Americans in the late 1800s because the leaders would separate and classify who is limited and who gets privileges. In this case, the Germans would represent the white people and the Jews would represent the colored.…
He lists a number of convincing factors. He reasons that while one is under the authority of a power, this obedience carries with it a feeling of safety and protection and a sense of being a part of something much bigger. Fromm clarifies “I can make no error, since it decides for me; I cannot be alone, because it watches over me; I cannot commit a sin, because it does not let me do so.” (Fromm 405). Also, because obedience has been considered a virtue for so long, it is essentially associated with being good. Disobedience becomes a sin and can be universally rejected (Fromm…
Obedience shines a light on the negative aspects of humanity, whereas disobedience shines a light on the positive. It has been revealed how people will deny their own senses in order to remain indifferent from the majority (Asch). It was also exposed that some people are okay with possibly killing another human being as long as the victim is not considered their responsibility (Milgram). Both of these examples were a response of the individuals who chose to conform and obey rather than know the difference of what is morally right and wrong. Yet in the midst of it all areas of disobedience allows for different groups of people to come together and fight to evoke incredible change. However, disobedience is much more expensive than obedience. People willing to disobey must first find factors that will lead them to want to disobey and then pay the consequences after. On the other hand, suffering the consequences is a small price to pay compared to living with years of injustice. The factors that were discovered to aid in a person’s willingness to disobey, deception, education, and responsibility, all stimulate a certain degree of reflection. In contrast, members subject to obedience follow blindly with no reflection on the authority’s demands. This evidence directly relates to the findings by both Asch and Milgram. In their cases, the subjects were stripped of their individuality, which resulted in their conformity.…
Disobedience is a valuable human trait and it promotes social progress. The beginning of time starts with disobedience. Humans tend to attract to trouble like a moth to a flame. When someone is born they start off disobedient. Humans have to be taught how to behave. It is to be imbedded into our brains to make the right decisions.…
Understanding these concepts is essential to humankind based on the fact that if we could control these factors we could make decisions based solely on what is right and wrong, and not who tells a subject what to do. Obedience to authority has a vast variety of pros and cons. Whether it be from the psychological stress that the people being ordered are put under, or a structured society that runs smooth because of the people willing to follow any commands. Obedience to authority has been a part of every society since the beginning of time, whether it continues in our future depends on each individual and how they view the…
Genocides are very tragic events where a certain group of people is being discriminated, segregated, displaced, and even killed for who they are or what they believe in, by a superior group. One of the most infamous ones is the Holocaust. Since that was a while ago, not too many people know that genocide is still happening. In the beginning of the 21st century, a new act of extermination came into play and still continues today. ¨The killings began in 2003, as the first genocide of the 21st century. Unrest and violence persist today.¨(Mitchell Hamline School Of Law) This is powerful because this shows that it has already been a decade, and this is still going on, meaning it will not stop on its own. The U.N. should focus primarily on the genocide…
Americans are just like other people from all around the world. They are shaped by many different things. Social forces is one of the main influences upon people. When people are shaped by social forces, does that make them individuals? A thing that America is known for.…
authority taking someone 's life, then they will think they can do it too. This…
Some of the social conditions that can turn good people into bad people are the government and politicians. The government and their leaders make people believe that whatever they say is the right thing and there is nothing people can do about it. An example of this is what happened in 1939 when the rise of the Nazi party was taking over the Reich. The people only obeyed the rules that they were told and they did not see anything wrong with the ideas of Adolf Hitler, even if those meant to kill 6 million innocent people. "Thus for the time being I have sent to the East only my 'Death 's Head Units ' with the orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish race or…