Book Reading: Obedience to Authority

Chapter 1
The first chapter is merely a description of the experiment and its motivation, preparing the reader for the tough chapters ahead.

Chapter 2
Further explanation of the experiment is necessary--the coming chapters rely on a reasonably thorough understanding of the procedure. The victim looks like a very friendly fellow. I would not want to shock him.

Chapter 3
Unsurprisingly, 100% of people surveyed believed that they would break off the experiment if they were participating. I'd like to think I would, but upon further reflection, I'm not so sure (scary!). Obviously, these predictions were wrong.

Chapter 4
Also unsurprising is the effect of the proximity of the victim to the subject. Shocking what could, in theory, be a completely empty room, is far removed from perceived morality, but shoving a man's hand down onto a shock plate is far more aggressive.

Chapter 5
The descriptions of individuals and their reactions to the experiment are astonishing. The brutal man who barely acknowledged the victim and the Old Testament professor are polar opposites and show the variety of subjects involved.

Chapter 6
Changing small parameters in the experiment (for example, showing that the victim had a heart problem) yielded interesting but not always significantly different results. Women, for example, acted very similarly to men.

Chapter 7
The descriptions of some individuals in the variations of the test are not vastly different from the original descriptions, though there are some slight differences. For example, there is one holier-than-thou woman who rambles incessantly about how "good" she is.

Chapter 8
The transfer of authority had surprisingly little effect on the subjects, except when two authorities disagreed. Perhaps the most surprising result from this set of experiments is that subjects were more likely to break off the experiment if the authority told them to while the victim encouraged further shocks.

Chapter 9
Changing the group dynamics in the experiment resulted in interesting results. Subjects wanted to conform to a group's activity (thus breaking off the experiment sooner if their "peers" did), and were more likely to continue if they were further removed from the actual punishment.

Chapter 10
An analysis of societal hierarchy allows for clearer interpretation of the experiment's results. Understanding how agents (especially humans) work in a hierarchy is vital to understanding why people tended to obey authority with only some resistance.

Chapter 11
This analysis of authority and societal expectations is quite interesting. It never occurred to me that the expectation of the presence of authority is engrained in us from an early age, but it certainly has now. Additionally, I do understand that defying authority can be embarrassing, adding to the hesitance to disobey.

Chapter 12
The analysis of the effect of strain on obedience is unsurprising to me; of course, strain must outweigh the pull of authority to break off the experiment! The effects of buffers on emotional strain are well-known as well. The difficulty in breaking the experiment is understandable.

Chapter 13
Aggression seems to have little effect on obedience in this case. Very few subjects seemed to enjoy their task. (which is, quite frankly, an unpleasant thought)

Chapter 14
Milgram responds to the various criticisms of his work with eloquence and a good amount of data to back up his conclusions. He acknowledges that the comparisons of his work to the actions of Nazis is similar to likening a lawn sprinkler to a monsoon, but he defends his work appropriately nonetheless.

Chapter 15
Milgram's application of his conclusions to the actions of American soldiers in Vietnam is valuable; Nazis were not the only ones capable of destruction. The summary of obedience and its apparent dangers is effective.

Summary
This book is unsettling. I know that I am prone to following authority--I do not like breaking rules, I do not like being in trouble, and I do not like being scolded. Apparently, this is a common thing amongst humans, so I fully understand the hesitance of subjects to break off the experiment. However, I sincerely hope that I would have the fortitude to end the experiment and the suffering of another person. It makes me fear authority and question my own beliefs. I've long been a staunch believer in the good of humanity, so seeing the human willingness to merely give over to authority is disturbing.

The criticisms of this experiment (namely, the "unethical" nature of it) could be considered well-founded; however, I disagree with them. Yes, the subjects may have sustained emotional trauma, but it is vital information about themselves. As with any trauma, it can enhance your life or destroy it. Because no actual harm was inflicted upon the victim, it seems to me that most of the subjects would be able to take this information and use it at a time when it is more critical to question authority.

The results of the various versions of this experiment are fascinating yet expected. The closer the subject is to his/her victim, the more likely s/he is to break off the experiment. It is like talking behind someone's back: it's a lot easier to abuse someone when they cannot easily defend themselves. Additionally, the further removed the authority is, the more likely subjects were to end the experiment. I have observed this in various situations; I'm far more likely to pay attention to a professor if s/he is in front of me than I am to pay attention to a video I was instructed to watch.

Milgram's mention of American soldiers in Vietnam is appropriate but uncomfortable. We abhor the Nazis, yet some similar actions were carried out. I wonder who decides what sort of inhumane actions are to be carried out, and how s/he sleeps at night. It raises an interesting question: is military action honorable? My personal opinions say yes, and I firmly believe in them, but the skepticism is warranted. How can a kind person carry out violent acts under authority and still be praised? It's horrible to think that authority makes good people go bad. However, it must be that an evil person is giving evil instructions....food for thought.

Overall, Milgram's book is enlightening and thought-provoking. Without authority, society would cease to exist, yet to have some semblance of humanity, we must (at times) defy it. It is a conundrum, and we must be aware of our tendencies to blindly follow authority and develop a personal morality system.