...Borough of Manhattan Community College City University of New York Department of English Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem by Erich Fromm For centuries kings, priests, feudal lords, industrial bosses and parents have insisted that obedience is a virtue and that disobedience is a vice. In order to introduce another point of view, let us set against this position the following statement: human history began with an act of disobedience, and it is not unlikely that it will be, terminated by an act of obedience. Human history was ushered in by an act of disobedience according to the Hebrew and Greek myths. Adam and Eve, living in the Garden of Eden, were part of nature; they were in harmony with it, yet did not transcend it. They were in nature as the fetus is in the womb of the mother. They were human, and at the same time not yet human. All this changed when they disobeyed an order. By breaking the ties with earth and mother, by cutting...
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...CS905N Lect 1 notes Game Theory Game Theory can be regarded as a multi-agent decision problem. Which means there are many people contending for limited rewards/payoffs. They have to make certain moves on which their payoff depends. These people have to follow certain rules while making these moves. Each player is suposed to behave rationally. Rationality: In the language of Game Theory rationality implies that each player tries to maximize his/her payoff irrespective to what other players are doing. In essence each player has to decide a set of moves which are in accordance with the rules of the game and which maximize his/her rewards. Game Theory can be classified in two branches 1. Non co-operative game theory : In this case the players work independently without assuming anything about what other players are doing. 2. Co-operative game theory: Here players may co-operate with one another. Game Theory has found applications in Economic, Evolutionary Biology, Sociology, Political Science etc, now Its finding applcations in Computer Science. What is a game? A game has the following 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Set of players Set of rules Set of Strategies Set of Outcomes. Pay off D = { Pi | 1 <= i <= n} R Si for each player Pi O ui (o) for each player i and for each outcome o e O Example 1{Coin Matching Game} Coin Matching Game : Two players choose independently either Head or Tail and report it to a central authority. If both choose the same side of the coin , player 1 wins, otherwise 2...
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...for much of history and modern times, is no different. A person’s seemingly inherent willingness to obey orders even when they go against the person’s own ethics is affected by the person’s own inherent tendencies, the environment in which they act, and their relationship with the superior. A person starts obeying orders the day they are born. A person, right away, is told what to do by their parents who they trust. Obedience is instantly instilled in a person, whether it is between them and their parent, their teacher, etc. “For a significant part of an individual’s life,...
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...day before the Israelites enter the Promised Land, Canaan, Moses delivered three speeches to the Israelites and reminded them to obey God. Moses emphasized the promises God made to the Israelites and the importance of loyalty to God. Moses warned them not to worship idols and cautioned them the punishments they would get if they disobey God or worship idols. He also told the Israelites that they had to follow God’s commandments in order to take the Promised Land. Whether they would live a good life in the Promised Land depended on whether they followed God and His law. Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses explained to the Israelites why they should obey God. Although some of the commandments are surprisingly harsh from the modern perspective, I argue that the biblical text and the harsh punishments emphasize the overarching theme that obedience to God is obligatory and the importance of covenant, which is a contract between God and the Israelites. Deuteronomy discussed various reasons that Israelites had to obey God, and there was no other option. Moses explained that obedience to God is compulsory. In Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Moses mandated the Israelites to be loyal to God. The LORD is the only God to obey. That is the rule. Moses stated that obedience to God was a simple and foundational principle to follow. In a modern perspective...
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...DISOBEDIENCE AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MORAL PROBLEM 2 “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” Erich Fromm Erich Fromm’s essay “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” suggests that humankind’s evolution has, and continues to rely on man’s capability to exercise disobedience. While discussing the positions of disobedience being considered a vice, and obedience being a virtue, Fromm reflects upon the history of Adam and Eve believing that “eating the forbidden fruit” was man’s first act of disobedience. This is the point that broke the bond between man and nature requiring man to be dependant upon his own powers, while rewarding him with his “complete” humanity, freedom, and independence. Another example Fromm discusses is the Greek myth of Prometheus’ defiance of the gods. Prometheus proclaimed that he “would rather be chained to this rock than be the obedient servant of the gods.” These are just a couple acts of defiance throughout the course history that have contributed to man’s evolution. Through acts of disobedience, man has continued to evolve spiritually, as well as intellectually. In addition, Fromm goes on to explain that just as disobedience has been the construct for humankind, blind obedience has the power to wipe it out it altogether. Fromm believes that the driving force catapulting man into the position of ultimately destroying all civilization is that, while currently living in the Atomic...
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...would be sending the wrong message to his peers. He would be telling them that all of his ideals and believes really had no meaning to him and that all this his search for the truth was just a big lie. Socrates's argument proceeds from the statement of a perfectly general moral principle to its application in his particular case: * One ought never to do wrong (even in response to the evil committed by another). * But it is always wrong to disobey the state. * Hence, one ought never to disobey the state. And since avoiding the sentence of death handed down by the Athenian jury would be an action in disobedience the state, it follows Socrates ought not to escape. The argument is a valid one, so we are committed to accepting its conclusion if we believe that its premises are true. The general commitment to act rightly is fundamental to a moral life, and it does seem clear that Socrates's escape would be a case of disobedience. But what about the second premise, the claim that it is always wrong for an individual to disobey the state? Surely that deserves further examination. In fact, Socrates pictures the laws of Athens proposing two independent lines of argument in favor of this claim: First, the state is to us as a parent is to a child, and since it is...
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...WRIT1010/52 7.09.2012 The Holocaust. During the Second World War, when Adolf Hitler was in power and had influence and pressure on people, the tragedy happened to ne of the smallest group of people, that is called Holocaust. People did not have a choice. What they supposed to do if there were only two way of excising- to obey or disobey the extermination of the nation that was different from others? Even today, we see the world that is divided in to two parts that still thinks that Adolf Hitler was right and this is what had to be done, and the other part of the world thinks that Holocaust was one of the cruel and heartless events in the history. The goals of Adolf Hitler were to clear the nation and erase the existence of Jews, for his own, personal reasons. The fascist movement was spreading all around, especially between the countries that were in a group of Axis power. It did not depend on every ones opinion, nothing personal; it was about being under the pressure of the leader. People had to obey it; otherwise they were going against and had to be punished as well, even killed. Humans did not have a choice, and a fear took over their personal feelings. They had to be like everyone to be saved. This movement also forced the Jews to change their names and last names, just to stay alive. That had to betrayal them just to be like others. However there were people who actually supported the idea of the extermination because they were sure that the Leader would not...
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...Antigone by Sophocles, the character Antigone is a tragic hero because she risk her life just to buried her brother polynices, Antigone is also courageous because she will do whatever it take to buried her brother,she is also loving because she is willing to disobey King Creon so she could buried her brother. tigone Sophocles Antigone is a tragic hero because she want to buried her brother, Antigone ask Ismene that if she want to help buried her brother polynices, but Ismene refuses to go with her because she did not want to broke King Creon law, she obey King Creon. Antigone is also courageous because she is willing to risk her life just so that her brother get proper burial she does not fear anyone, even if it mean executed by King Creon if it comes to burying her brother, regularly if Ismene told her to stand down and convince her that king Creon is a dangerous person and not to disobey him, nevertheless Antigone is not frighten by King Creon....
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...Donald Fletcher bravo company 302d bsb Camp Casey Korea why is it important to follow orders Donald Fletcher bravo company 302d bsb Camp Casey Korea why is it important to follow orders There are many reasons why a soldier should follow all of the orders they are given because every one of them is important in any circumstance. An order is a task given to a soldier that has to be done in a certain period of time in an efficient manner. There are three main reasons of why it’s important for a soldier to follow the orders they are given: To be disciplined, an effective combat, and be a good soldier and love your job. When a soldier doesn’t follow the orders they were given it doesn’t only affect them it affects everyone in the team and the goals they have set for the mission. When soldiers don’t follow the orders, the objectives are hurt and the chances of winning the war. When you’re in the army you need to stop and think if it will harm you or your battle buddies. When a soldier doesn’t follow orders while in combat zone it makes the mission ineffective, if a single soldier in the unit is combat ineffective it lowers the chances of winning, making the leaders deal with a soldier that can’t handle the workload of the unit. For example if Sergeant tells a private to prepare the guns before they go out for the mission the sergeant is telling the private to get the guns ready so they can be fully functional and help out when its needed in the fight. It doesn’t matter if...
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...TOPIC ONE: Socrates seems to come to the conclusion in the Crito that there is a moral obligation on the part of every citizen to obey the laws (or to persuade others to change them). But in the Apology, he mentions two cases of what he seems to think permissible disobedience to the laws: his past refusal to arrest Leon of Salamis, and his stated intention not to comply with judicial gag order. Does he contradict himself? Explain and defend your answer. NOTES: - Yes, Plato contradicts himself - Why? give reasons - We know from the Gorgias that Socrates believes one must absolutely always avoid committing injustice, but there is no analogous obligation to avoid suffering injustice. So he could consistently hold that one should obey laws that require one to suffer injustice, but should disobey laws that require one to commit injustice. And this is indeed his position. For in the Apology, the laws he announces he would break are commands to commit injustice (since it was unjust to arrest Leon, and it would be unjust to disobey the Oracle’s command to philosophize); but he says one should always obey one’s human superior so long as doing so does not involve disobeying a divine superior or doing something wrong, so even in the Apology he is committed to obeying laws that merely require him to suffer injustice. Likewise, in the Crito, Socrates is committed to obeying the command to suffer injustice (i.e., to let himself be executed), but he says clearly that one should...
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...The core of MLK's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is explaining his actions in Birmingham and the need for nonviolent protests. He takes the need for nonviolent protests one step further by stating it is their moral task to break unjust laws. MLK explains the process they have gone through leading up to the sit-ins and boycotts such as meeting with leaders of the economic community in which merchants promised to remove the racial signs from their stores (3). These promises never came through after months of waiting and the need for directs action arose. He addresses the "untimeliness" of their actions in Birmingham and the need to wait for changes to be made. MKL responds with "For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear...
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...The phrase “a thunderbolt from Zeus” illustrates the extreme power that Zeus had and his authority of the Greeks like a king. Also, the idea that he killed all the men except Odysseus presents Zeus has no remorse for the people that disobey him and are not loyal. Later in the other text this concept is demonstrated when “ The gods, in short, had better things to do then concern themselves with a plight of humans. (Garland 210). Being conveyed through the quote the concept that do not bother or disobey the gods and they leave the people alone. The idea is supported by “had better things to do” illustrating unless they pull attention to themselves by doing something like disobeying a god’s order there will not get punished. The idea of mythology was a importance and interesting cultural value to The Odyssey, and to the ancient Greeks in Ancient Greece: Everyday Life in the Birthplace of Western...
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...something because we are told to or are we doing it because we are scared of what may happen if we don’t? But is that always the right answer? Although Fromm’s ideas were organized and the evidence he used to support his argument was effective, the counter argument is missing. Fromm is trying to get us to understand that by man being introduced to the world by disobedience, whether it be from Adam and Eve or Prometheus, we now have to answer to a authority figure, which in return having to obey to that authority figure will end the world. Fromm’s fear and worry is just that. If we get in the habit and routine of doing something simply because we are told to do it, what is going to stop that one person from pushing what Fromm calls the “Deadly Button” (p. 684), and ending the world as we know it? “The organization man has lost the capacity to disobey, he is not even aware of the fact that he obeys. At this point in history the capacity to doubt, to criticize and to disobey may be all that stands between...
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...disobedience nor obedience could exist without the power of an authority figure to dictate the rules and restraints of submission. In his article “The Perils of Obedience,” Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram asserts that authority as a whole is an essential component of social living and that obedience to this authority is a social behavior unknowingly entrenched in a majority of the population. Milgram’s scientific review explores this claim as he shares data from his experiment in which subjects blindly obey someone they believe to be an expert, simply due to his prompting. Supported with reactions...
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...milgrim put forth as to why people obey is that they shift from an autonomous state to an agentic state, so they see themselves as an agent for carrying out someone else's wishes. This could mean they avoid the costs of obeying and the costs of disobeying to an extent. Milgrim came up with this hypothesis after his study where participants were given the role of electrocuting a 'learner' 'for the name of scence' with an experimenter pressing them on. 62.5% of them went to maximum voltage and obeying the experimenter. It would make sense that agentic shift was a factor to the participants obeying in this situation being told it was in the name of science and with an experimenter pressing them on. If agentic shift was the only reason why people obey then its probable different events would have occured during historical events where people dosobeyed, like in the holocaust where there were unnessessary acts of cruelty against jews. That could be explained in terms of conformity rather than obeying though. This explanaton doesn't explain why it matters to people to obey so its a reductionist explanation. It makes cognitive sense aswell for it being a reductonist explanation from knowledge f people being scared and consequently obeying and other human nature knowledge. Another explnanation is that people obey because they start to obey a little they have chosen the path of obeying and it takes less effort therefore to obey there on in than to disobey. This is called the foot in the...
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