Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King‚ in "Civil Disobedience" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail‚" respectively‚ both conjure a definitive argument on the rights of insubordination during specified epochs of societal injustice. Thoreau‚ in his enduring contemplation of life and its purpose‚ insightfully analyzes the conflicting relationship between the government and the people it governs. He considerately evokes the notion that the majority of people are restrained by the government and society
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“Human history began with an act of disobedience‚ and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience” (Fromm‚ 1981‚ ¶1). Comparing this statement to the historical idea that obedience is a virtue and disobedience is a vice is the basis of Erich Fromm’s essay entitled “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” (1981). Referencing historical and biblical accounts‚ Fromm claims that mankind was not human until the point of the first disobedient act‚ at which point the
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Some of the greatest American writers of the nineteenth century wrote about a theme of the individual. Two that come to mind when writing about the individual are Henry David Thoreau who wrote "Civil Disobedience" and Walt Whitman who wrote "One’s-Self I Sing." Thoreau was known for being an individualist‚ who fought against materialism and social conformity. Whitman was similar to Thoreau in that he too took powerful and devoted stands against the social and cultural directions of individuals. Whitman
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Summary on Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem People have said that “obedience is a virtue and that disobedience is a vice‚” for centuries. History of the humankind was started by an act of disobedience and it is not very unlikely that it will end by an act of obedience. Adam and Eve‚ being part of nature in the Garden Of Eden‚ had disobeyed an order. By disobeying the order they made man emerge “from a pre-human harmony and was able to take the first step into independence
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Indecisive disobedience occurs when the individuals in the experiment try to disobey in different ways‚ but they were ineffective at it. I believe that the Milgram experiment was more about indecisive disobedience‚ rather than destructive obedience. The subjects of Milgram’s experiment were consciously aware that what they were doing was wrong‚ since it brought great pain to the “learner‚” but because they were instructed by a legitimate authority to continue the experience‚ they obeyed the experimenter
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Martin King and Henry Thoreau both write persuasive expositions that oppose majority ideals and justify their own causes. While this similarity is clear‚ the two essays‚ "Letters from Birmingham Jail" by King and "Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau‚ do have their fair share of differences. Primarily in the causes themselves‚ as King persuades white‚ southern clergy men that segregation is an evil‚ unjust law that should be defeated through the agitation of direct protesting‚ and Thoreau‚ writing to a
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extremely simplified definition of civil disobedience given by Webster’s Dictionary is "nonviolent opposition to a law through refusal to comply with it‚ on grounds of conscience." Thoreau in "Civil Disobedience" and Martin Luther King in "Letter from Birmingham Jail" both argue that laws thought of as unjust in one’s mind should not be adhered to. In Herman Melville’s "Bartleby‚" a man named Bartleby is thought of by many to be practicing civil disobedience. His actions are nonviolent‚ and
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Author‚ Oscar Wilde‚ believes disobedience is a valuable and progressive human trait. In addition‚ Wilde concluded that the act of rebellion has allowed beneficial changes to be made in society. Disobedience is one of the most essential traits a person can acquire. Several examples in history and everyday life have proven the value of disobedience and the social change it promotes. Disobedience is a beneficial human trait due to the fact that it allows people to be unique from one another. For
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The Problem is Civil Obedience (Howard Zinn) The world has been through drastic changes overtime. In Zinn’s article‚ he discusses how people obey the law. Civil disobedience is the active‚ professed refusal to obey certain laws‚ demands‚ or commands of a government‚ or of an occupying international power‚ as a form of peaceful protest. He states that the problem is not civil disobedience‚ but it is civil obedience.1 Zinn includes how not only is this happening today‚ but civil obedience has been
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Disobedience has been involved in human society since the very beginning. To some people‚ disobedience is only seen as a detriment to society and progress but that’s just not true. Disobedience is a valuable human trait that promotes social progress because disobedience allows us to learn from the actions of the deviant‚ get results that wouldn’t be possible with obedient means‚ and it gives others examples of bad behavior and the consequences of acting that way. Disobedience allows us to learn
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