Is Disobeying A Higher Power - 1194 Words

For as long as history has been recorded the human species has been subject to authority. There has always been somebody for people to answer to. God, a king, or even an elected official. After an extensive history of obeying a higher power the concept has become part of our species culture.Rebellion is frowned upon by society and compliance is expected. When is it right to break the chain and disobey? According to Socrates it is never right to disobey authority, he says â€Å"Consider the logical consequence. If we leave this place without first persuading the state to let us go, are we or are we not doing an injury, and doing it in a quarter where it is least justifiable? Are we or are we not abiding by our just agreement?† In this situation†¦show more content†¦I agree with Milgram that people feel the urge to obey more than they do to follow their own ideas, but I think it’s a habit that can and should be broken. I hear people say all the time â€Å"I don t have a choice.† They fail to realize that they always have a choice. Even if all the other options appear to be worse alternatives they need to be considered, and when a conclusion is made it needs to be a conscious decision. I think that not considering alternative options is a narrow minded approach that only creates more problems. Ultimately the choice someone makes belongs to the individual. The chain of command perverses responsibility. Milgram expresses his opinion on the matter when he says â€Å"It is easy to ignore responsibility when one is only an intermediate link in a chain of command (p511).† If somebody is just a part of a larger action then they pass the responsibility on to the other people taking part. This becomes a serious problem when everyone passes the responsibility and then nobody is liable. People giving the orders say that they are not the one doing the deed, and the people obeying say they are simply taking orders. I agree, it is very easy to pass responsibility onto somebody else, that doesn t make it right or acceptable though. In the end the responsibility of an action belongs to the one doing it. If people held themselves responsible for their