Human Obedience

“Human Obedience”

A person is taught to be obedient from a very young age. We are taught to be obedient to our parents, to teachers and to higher authority. As humans it’s our nature to be obedient, and one might be viewed as abnormal if one rebels against authority. However, is being obedient at all times the right thing to do? Certainly not. Obedience can certainly be dangerous, especially when harm is inflicted upon another person.

We live in a world that is filled with different people, different cultures, different beliefs, and different personalities. Each person is unique in his or her own way, with different likes and dislikes, and their individuality makes them who they are. Often, people give up their individuality to follow orders of others, and obey people in authority.

Humans tend to be obedient for many reasons, such as: money, power, religious beliefs, longing to be part of a certain group, and simply because one cannot say no to authority. One does not want to be socially rejected, and is willing to go against their morals, even if it means hurting another human being. An example, of dangerous authority is found in “The Pearls of Obedience” by Stanley Milgrim. Milgrim set up an experiment at Yale University to find out how much pain a person would inflict on another human being simply because they were told to do so. The experiment consists of two people, one of which would electrocute the other for every wrong answer given. The results were shocking. Majority of the participants had no moral remorse and went ahead with the experiment, even though pain and the possibility of death would be the greatest result of the experiment. This example supports that normal people turn in to monsters, be...

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...hould not blindly obey the orders they receive, especially when causing physical or mental harm to another human being. It is especially difficult for young adults to be disobedient to their peers, because of their desire to be socially accepted. Having to make though decisions early on in life will only make one stronger, and help deal with tough situations later in life.

Works Cited

Asch, Solomon E. “Opinions and Social Pressure.” Behrens and Rosen 351-357.

Behrens, Laurence, and Leonard J Rosen, eds. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. 10th ed. New York: Pearson, 2008. Print.

Fromm, Erich. “Disobedience as a Physical and Moral Problem.” Behren and Rosen 402- 406.

Milgrim, Stanley. “The Perils of Obedience.” Behrens and Rosen 358-370.

Zimbardo, Philip G. “The Stanford Prison Experiment.” Behren and Rosen 389-400.