The Implications of the Stanford Prison Experiment for Humanity in the Long Run

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The Implications of the Stanford Prison Experiment for Humanity in the Long Run

In 1971 a group of 18 students took part in what was to become the

most controversial experiment of the decade. The students were divided

randomly into prisoners and wardens. The wardens were given complete

control of the prisoners and the experiment left to run. The idea of

the experiment was to find out the causes of such atrocities as the

Holocaust. Dr. Zimbardo, the conductor of the experiment, was

intrigued as to why normal Germans, who thought the idea of

extermination of all Jews was morally wrong, still allowed it to

happen and in extreme cases aided Hitler's cause in the death camps.

Zimbardo was sure that man's true nature would shine through in his

experiment to reveal humans for what they really are. In his

experiment this human nature shone through in only a few days and the

experiment had to be abandoned.

Dr. Zimbardo was working to find out man's potential for evil and what

caused violence to arise in even the most calm of people. For this

reason, the 18 students were handpicked and screened for any mental

disturbances or violent behaviour. The students were described by

Zimbardo as "peaceniks," they were some of the calmest people to be

found. All the people in the prison were assured to be 'normal'

people.

In the 1960's Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment that was to

prove nearly as controversial. Two people, a 'teacher' and a

'learner,' were separated by a screen. The 'teacher' would then ask

the 'learner' questions and each time an incorrect answer was given,

the ...

... middle of paper ...

... experiment? People suffering because of their physical appearances,

such as Piggy, and people assuming power, such as Jack with others too

afraid too stand up to him, does seem to reflect the Stanford Prison

Experiment. However, the Lord of the Flies ends as being a

hypothetical set of results. It can never really show the true results

of such an experiment because it is only a fictional novel.

The only real answer to the question will come in time, when the

results of the Stanford Prison Experiment may one day have to stand up

to regimes such as the world has previously seen. Man's potential evil

can only be shown through such experiments as the Stanford Prison

Experiment but that may not necessarily be a good thing. "Man's

essential illness" may not only be his inner evil, but also his sick

fascination with it.

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