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Obedience and Disobedience

Throughout history, the principles and moral obligations of men have been challenged
through acts of obedience and disobedience. It is by human nature that we answer to a higher
authority by means of obedience, or break our ties and through courage consider ourselves
free by means of disobedience. In Fromms article, Disobedience as a psychological and
moral problem, he articulated the difficulty and the challenge of disobeying alongside the
privilege of security provided by obeying. In presence of authority, we recognize its power
and thus feel obliged to become obedient. We feel safe and protected and see disobedience
as an inconvenient act of conflict and freedom from whatever rewards we enjoy in being
obedient. However, obedience has its limits. Just as the Israelites were free from Egypt,
Adam and Eve from paradise, and the African-Americans from apartheid, we see how free-
will and the principles of man paved way to the freedom offered by disobedience. We were
all made to obey and answer to an authority; however when the shared principles and beliefs
of menwhich are undermined by authorityare realized, disobedience will take place until
the hope for freedom is attained.
In Stanley Miligrams experiment described in The Perils of Obedience, he depicted
how a presence of authority can practically sustain control and order over a subject. We
realize the human nature of man to obey to someone perceived to have power and domination
over a situation. In a way, this can be beneficial for society. With a purpose of sustaining
order and the welfare of all, we can see the favourable outcome of obedience to an authority.
During the destructive hit of Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, a tiny island in the
province of Cebu incurred zero human casualties and death. Following the orders of their
former Mayor Alfredo Arquillano to evacuate and leave the island beforehand, the whole
island was saved except their respective homes. No house was seen left standing when they
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went back after the typhoon. For Filipinos who are inherently attached to their homes,
obedience prevailed as an answer to an authority. Even if it was against their desire to leave
home, the security that their obedience can afford made them follow their former mayor.
However, obedience can also have a lasting destructive effect on people. The
Holocaust and the Crusades were a product of obedience and the protocol of military men to
follow orders given by an authority, without question. It has been a questionable issue on
how people, ordinary or not, have been able to perform such inhuman acts in accordance to
orders of an authority present. However, to call this blind obedience is arguable. As in
Miligrams experiment many people were in some sense against what they did to the
learner, we can see here how the morality suddenly sets in but could not have succeeded
with the thought of the necessary orders of a present authority. To insistently believe that the
experiment was crucial and essentially needed to be completed, the subjectswith great
hesitationcontinued on. They were made to believe that they were contributing to
scientific work that will one day benefit humankind. With this in mind, it was not evil or
conformity that drove them to continue on, rather a misguided sense of idealism (Jacobs,
2012).
On the other hand, disobedience is another case to study on. Erich Fromm illustrated
how disobedience allowed man to evolve and develop since the time of Adam and Eve.
Their new found freedom from the old paradise became the product of their disobedience.
Throughout human history, notable acts of disobedience to authority produced historical
revolutions applauded even today by society. Such examples were the Salt March led by
Mahatma Gandhi against British monopoly on salt, the Cape Town Peace March against the
repressive apartheid in South Africa, and the American Civil Rights Movement against black
Americans being treated second-class American citizens for more than a century. These acts
of disobedience allowed men to move forward and free themselves from social injustices and
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oppression. The leaders of these movements expressed their set of beliefs and principles to
people who similarly believe what they believe and thus creating a revolution through
disobedience. This is now where obedience to authority meets its limit. With one person
obtaining the courage to free himself from the status quo, the capacity for disobedience will
now develop and progress from one person to another. This is exactly what happened in the
alternative setting of Miligrams experiment. When he included two actors that disobeyed
the experimenter to go beyond a certain shock level, thirty six out of the forty subjects then
refused as well.
However, this is not to say that all acts of disobedience can be justified. It is from our
very childhood that we were taught to obey and listen. We were taught to obey rules of our
parents and listen to other grown-ups. In school, we were to follow rules and guidelines
stipulated by the administration. As we graduate and work in a company, we were taught
essential lessons and techniques to survive and progress in a corporate world. Freedom is
only attained after a certain levela measure of our maturity and intellectual capacity.
Disobedience in this age of our life would be considered foolish. This is essentially because
we still do not have the capacity to disobeyby capacity we mean the development of
intellect and sense of independence. It is learning to say no to power because you are certain
that you can think for yourself and what you believe is a better alternative to the present
situation. The capacity to disobey is expressing our form of maturity and freedom of being
dependent on authority. Disobedience has its appropriate place in society however
relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority (Miligram, 1963). Just
like obedience, misguided disobedience can lead to destructive effects. Chaos and
unmanageable freedom are potential products of inappropriate disobedience to orders that are
intended for the good.
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In conclusion, we realize the limits of obedience as set by principles and moral
obligations of humans. Obedience with misleading causes can go as far as destruction of
morality and accepted values, however it is up to the capacity of the subject to cut the bond it
has with an authority. When we realize what we are doing is wrong, hesitation comes.
However disobedience will only develop with courage to stand up and express resistance and
opposition. The capacity to disobey as channelled by deep understanding and courage is
unfortunately not inherent to all people but only to exceptional ones as exemplified
throughout mans history. However, one exceptional person that can disobey an authority
can lead all other people to follow. This is when disobedience is likely to win over
obedience. As humans, we are greatly influenced by leadersleaders that promote
obedience and leaders that promote disobedience. To whom we will follow will be based on
who shares the same principles and moral values. The authority can only make people follow
at a certain level. Beyond that, one person will stand up against him. And when that person
shares the beliefs of the common good, this is where obedience stops and disobedience arises.








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References
Jacobs, T. (2012). Rethinking the Classic Obedience Studies. Retrived May 6, 2014 from
http://www.psmag.com/blogs/the-101/rethinking-obedience-stanford-prison-
experiment-49677/
McElroy, A. (2013). Evacuation saves whole island from Typhoon Hiayan. Retrived May 6,
2014 from http://www.unisdr.org/archive/35524
Rods, S. (2014). Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr: Five Examples of Nonviolent, Civil
Disobedience Worldwide. Retrieved May 6, 2014 from
http://ironline.american.edu/honoring-martin-luther-king-jr/