Blind Obedience, Authority, and Moral Responsibility

Introduction: The Problems of Obedience

There are indeed problems with obedience, as the title of the reading proclaims. One problem with obedience is that whenever more than one person inhabits the same space, some form of obedience becomes necessary. On a grander scale, it is even more apparent that obedience is mandatory for societies to exist and function. Another problem with obedience is how those who obey are often predisposed to do so to a fault — to knowingly follow orders that result in actions directly conflicting with their own conscience. Blind obedience is a problem. A further problem arises when otherwise "normal" and moral individuals obey orders to commit crimes against humanity and feel no responsibility or accountability for the consequences of those actions. That obedience breeds detachment from responsibility — particularly with regard to the most heinous crimes — is yet another of its problems.

Through examples from research studies, historical events, and everyday situations, Milgram makes several sound points and asks several key questions regarding responsibility, obedience, authority, and the nature of humanity. This paper explores the main points of "The Problem of Obedience," concluding that while obedience is necessary for functioning within groups, critical thinking and strict adherence to a personal code of ethics counteract — or at least balance — the potentially fatal consequences of blind obedience.

Milgram's Findings and the Fragmentation of Responsibility

Milgram's central interest is the degree to which ordinary people, in a non-wartime situation, will obey orders that result in harm to a third party. He describes studies conducted at universities across the United States with remarkably consistent results: people are perfectly willing to hurt others when a perceived authority figure instructs them to do so, regardless of their personal principles, ethics, or morals. The most important conclusion of the piece, for this author, is the following:

Predictably, subjects excused their behavior by saying that the responsibility belonged to the man who actually pulled the switch. This may illustrate a dangerously typical situation in complex society: it is psychologically easy to ignore responsibility when one is only an intermediate link in a chain of evil action but is far from the final consequences of the action… Thus there is a fragmentation of the total human act; no one man decides to carry out the evil act and is confronted with its consequences. The person who assumes full responsibility for the act has evaporated. Perhaps this is the most common characteristic of socially organized evil in modern society. (Milgram 1974)

While the entire piece is worthwhile and engaging, this quotation — appearing near the closing of the essay — is a truly cogent presentation of Milgram's central point. These behaviors are quite evident throughout society, from the workplace to the battlefield, from the university to the after-party: people do not take responsibility for harming others when they are "just following orders." When each person in the chain of command relinquishes responsibility, deadly force is used and no one is held accountable; therefore, no one suffers consequences.

Authority, Hierarchy, and the Absence of Critical Thinking

That may be an underlying reason why people avoid responsibility and cling to obedience as an excuse to evade accountability. People fear consequences — particularly consequences for actions they know are wrong. As a defense mechanism against being held responsible for actions they know are wrong yet obey anyway, ordinary people evade responsibility.

Audiences frequently encounter media representations of organized groups and professionals working within clear hierarchies or power structures. In such representations, those in command issue orders that may seem counterintuitive or wrong to subordinates — yet the subordinates comply. Subordinates are not always aware of the pressures of command, nor of the classified or protected information available to the authority figure, so it may seem out of line to question orders rather than obey them.

On the other hand, where is the line? What is lacking in the character of the average person that allows them to follow orders they know are wrong? What allows them to believe they bear no responsibility for harm inflicted upon others as a result of orders they executed? A possible answer is a lack of critical thinking skills. There is a profound deficit of critical thinking in many cultures today. If people were thinking more critically — especially in moments of ethical quandary — the results of Milgram's experiments might have varied considerably.

Conclusion: Responsibility, Alienation, and Social Intelligence

The quote that truly sways me to this position is the one mentioned earlier. I think that quote truly captures the state of mind and behavior regarding obedience and responsibility for atrocities. It is reminiscent of Marx's theory of the alienation of labor under capitalism: just as workers become alienated from their products and their labor — living detached, disconnected lives — people under systems of hierarchical obedience become alienated from their own actions and responsibilities. The result is a world full of horrors for which, apparently, no one is responsible.