Superior Orders
How well do you know yourself? Would you have the strength to disobey a boss, elder, or even a friend? According to most studies, you wouldn't. So why, when the superior orders defense is used in a war crime trial, is it almost always defeated? Stanley Milgram, who preformed one of the most highly known studies on obedience, said that, "The essence of obedience is that a person comes to view himself as the instrument for carrying out another person's wishes, and he therefore no longer regards himself as responsible for his action" (323). According to Milgram we, as humans, all need some system of authority. From the day we are born we have authority figures who, for most people, are our parents. They teach us all of the things we need to know; they also teach us things they don't even know they're teaching us. From day one they teach us to obey authority. This lesson sticks with us throughout our lives; first we obey our parents, then our grandparents,......
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Approximate Word Count: 2442
Approximate Pages: 10 (260 words per double-spaced page) |