McElrath 1
Michael McElrath
Rajesewari Mohan
College Writing II
August rd, 2010
Obedience
“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is
through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through
rebellion.”
- Oscar Wilde
Obedience to authority is an idea that must be constantly be considered in today’s society. The
idea of obedience has been important to mankind since the inception of our existence and, for the
sake of survival, it has proven to be a key role in establishing strong civilizations and living
conditions. Without obedience and order we cannot survive as a communal group. To the
contrary most of mans’ greatest achievements come through acts of disobedience. In many
aspects the dawn of man was brought about by his disobedience of a higher power. Prometheus
brought fire to man despite the wishes of the gods. Eve broke the one law constraining and
confining her and Adam to the Garden of Eden by sharing the symbol of knowledge with her
partner. Disobedience has always been a part of our lives and we subconsciously question
ourselves every day, every moment when we interact with the world. Today’s society demands a
certain amount of obedience from all individuals in the forms of laws and rules. Though mostly
unwritten, these rules are seen in everything we do: television, advertisement, movies, and every
other form of social media as well as our normal interactions with even our friends, coworkers,
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and relatives. From our youth we are told that we must follow the orders not only to the leader,
but to the true intent of the order. Even the slightest bit of free thought and consideration can go
punished or, as is usually the case, unrewarded. In or society we rarely reward those who think
freely and discover unique methods of solving problems when they are against the accepted
means. Our leaders, the bosses; parents; and teachers, wish us to follow their set paths without
argument on restraint and they do so be defining strict sets of rules. These rules define what each
individual is allowed to do and the activities to which it are not permitted within the scope of the
assignment. Different leaders have different lists of acceptable behaviors and actions and expect
different sects of their minions and underlings to behave differently. Without these rules the
world they accept would fall into pieces. They would be at a loss of power without those who
agree to conform to their laws. But without rebellious thoughts it is impossible to progress or
move forward in the social order. If complacent and ignorant in actions innovation becomes
nothing more than a distant memory. While it is impossible to advance without a certain degree
of obedience to authority rebellion is a necessary part of social interactions which ensure the
strong structure and integrity of the goal. Innovation is born through disobedience and the yoke
of oppression can only be removed when the individual stands up against those who have the
most to lose when authority is broken. Without the willingness to obedience, authority is
without power.
Before it is
In order for society to function it is a requirement that it are in agreement with each other.
Disobedience and nonconformity are a threat not only to the individual but the group as a whole.
The individual must agree to give up the freedom of being an individual and become obedient to
the group in order to strengthen the will and power of the group (Fromm 405). Without these
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laws and rules man lives in a state of disarray and war against itself concerned only with their
own survival which, in the end, causes the entirety to suffer (Hobbes). In a state of pure
individuality man ends up in a state of pure conflict. “Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes). Alone as individuals the simplest mistake can have dire
consequences but within the unity of a group others are capable of protecting the individual from
harm. Rather than fighting against each other for the same source of food, shelter, or protection
the group is able to defend its entirety while sharing the benefits with each of its own entities
creating integrity but in order to protect and maintain this integrality it is essential for the parts of
the group to obey the whole. It is when we come together that we are no longer a threat to each
other, but also capable of aiding the entire group in their goals for survival and prosperity. The
sacrifice of uniqueness and self-reliance made by the individual allows the group to form a
stronger entity. When any person is doing a job alone with no assistance, it has nothing to back
them up in case something goes wrong or falls out of hand. If a hunter were to be attacked he
could only defend on himself for protection. When a hunting party is threatened it relies on the
others in their group to come to their aid. This is demonstrated in nearly every group setting
both in human society and in animal groups. A school of fish avoids predators by reacting as a
single entity rather than a thousand panicked individuals. If one fish turns to avoid the danger of
a predator the other senses this movement and move away as well. The individuals know that
what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
We subconsciously will ourselves into obey within the group in order to reap the benefits
that obedience can offer. Solomon E. Asch’s study on opinions and social pressure shows us that
this behavior is programmed into our minds and as the group grows in size and power the
individual is more willing to give in to its pressure and accept into the group’s belief structure.
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This is true with when comparing the relative power of a figure of authority as well. Stanley
Milgram’s social experiment shows that certain factors contribute to the idea of authority and
when presented with these factors the individual is less willing to show disobedience. United,
the group has interest in its own self preservation and by virtue the preservation of all of its
members (Rousseau). When the individual is willing to accept itself as a member of the group,
the group becomes more willing to accept the individual. If the individual proves disobedient
even to an authority figure then that individual is likely to be punished for their behavior.
Because each member of the group desires the protection of the group, the group becomes
stronger. Rousseau explains that as an entirety it is impossible to single out and harm a member
of the society, for harming any individual will harm the society as a whole and when the society
suffers all parts of it suffer. This allows for each individual not only to be protected from outside
sources but from the entirety of the group as well, both individual and as a whole. We obey the
law and authority of the group with the understanding that other individuals will do the same.
We agree to follow the rules set before us because we assume that others will do the same. For
example in nearly every culture it is against written and unwritten law to kill to another member
of the group. With this rule we give up our freedom to hurt others with the guarantee that no
others will hurt us. We assimilate ourselves into the group by becoming obedient, but even still
we have our own free will. The group is, in and of itself, nothing more than a collection of
unique individuals.
Naturally we come to a situation of mutual agreement of what is acceptable and
unacceptable as determined by not only the group, but each individual of the group. According
to Lopach and Luckowski each member of the collection has consented obedience to the will of
the group simply by participating in it. The individual accepts this will knowing that the interest
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of the society is to benefit society and thereby benefit all members who have joined the group.
They do so with full knowledge that, since the society does not seek to harm itself as a whole,
and is incapable of harming individuals without damaging the group, the individual is thereby
protected by, and from, the group that it has joined. Rousseau states that even when one rebels
and struggles against the many the punishment is to be allowed to do so, but as an individual. It
is gifted with freedom when it does not wish to join and obey, allowed their right to stray from
the safety and power that the group provides merely for sacrificing their own freedom and
individuality. Like a living organism, the groups will is to banish an exile those that would seek
disobedience. The systems of laws in place in current-day society show that though we cannot
physically remove an individual from the esdwland controlled by the group it can be banished
from the normal laws of society and placed in jail. If the individual is a visitor from to another
country it is possible that it may be exiled and banished from the country to which it are visiting,
never allowed to return again. However, it is the unique individuality which grants us the ability
to create new, unique ideas that is makes up our most important contribution to society.
Without these new ideas, however, it is impossible for the group to progress forward
towards a greater good and the ultimate goals of the group. It is through this form of
nonconformity that important ideas can come to fruition. Bertrand Russel states that “if a
community is to make progress, it needs exceptional individuals whose activities, though useful,
are not of a sort that ought to be general.” In order for society to progress occasionally one must
do something that is outside of the normal bounds of societal constraints. The society may not
accept what the individual does, but these ideas do not damage its entirety. In fact, it is
necessary for individual to protect the other individuals of the society from that group itself. It
becomes the requirement of the individual to disagree when the majority stands incorrect and to
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push the society in a better direction. In Stanley Millgram’s experiment it was demonstrated that
great atrocities can occur when the members follow the majority blindly. The majority is
capable of doing great harm to itself when it is never questioned and when it is not allowed to
evolve or change. Only when an individual is willing to stand up against the beliefs of the
majority can the entire group proceed forward. It has been demonstrated time and time again
throughout our history. These individuals are normally labeled as revolutionaries, heretics,
nonbelievers, and democrats. The changes created usually mean that we must let go of our past
and the way things were done previously, evolving like so many other creatures have. Man is
considered to be at the apex of evolution, but we are still capable of evolving as a species every
day. Just like macro-evolution, however, it can take some time. Abraham Lincoln was once
credited as saying that he believed slavery would be a part of the United States until several
generations had passed and those who were raised believing it was proper had long died out.
Women have been fighting for their own equality and rights since the beginning of mankind and
slowly the changes have been seen though it takes much longer for something that so deeply
ingrained in our coding. Even scientific breakthroughs can only come when what is thought to
be correct is questioned. Long was it held that the Earth was the center of the universe only for
this to be proven incorrect. Recently it was found that the radius of a proton was smaller than
previously measured which has thrown our theories of the behavior of quantum materials and
astronomic bodies into question.
Individuals join together as a group and conform to the general will of society for the
betterment of not only themselves, but the group as a whole. Every part of the group reaps the
benefits of being a member, garnishing the protection and benefits provided by the entirety while
each contributing a piece of their own self. The group decides what is acceptable within itself
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and this decision is created by the combined will of each individual. Through these ideas the
group becomes strong and through self-censorship and protection, the individuals are all
guaranteed that it are safe within the group and from the group. While a certain amount of
conformity is necessary for to ensure the strong structure of the community it is necessary for
each entity to be capable and willing to stand on their own against the majority.
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1. Asch, Solomon E. Opinions and Social Pressure. Writing and Reading Across the
Curriculum 10th Edition, 2008. Print.
2. Hobbes, Thomas. “Leviathan” 1651 Edwin-Curley Edition. 1994 Republished by Hackett
Publishing. Print.
3. Lopach and Luckowski. Uncivil Disobedience: Violating the Rules for Breaking the law.
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 10th Edition, 2008. Print.
4. Milgram, Stanley. The Perils of Obedience. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 10th
Edition, 2008. Print.
5. Pohl, R. et al. Nature 466, 213-217 (2010). Print.
6. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem.” Writing and
Reading Across the Curriculum, 2008. Print.