Erich Fromm's Disobedience As A Psychological And Moral Problem

In Erich Fromm’s article “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem”, Fromm states that “human history began with an act of disobedience, and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience” (574). By this he means that through many cultures man has become human by disobeying their “gods” and having to learn to fend for themselves and live with their mistakes and that only by once again conforming to a higher power we could quite possibly become the demise of the human race. I agree with Fromm in his statements and theories, how can we expect to achieve greatness and move up in the world with our beliefs and cultures if we conform to one higher power? Great things come when we venture out into the unknown, we just have to break the right chains of obedience to get there. …show more content…
The first humans, Adam and Eve, are the first to disobey; eating the forbidden fruit, leaving them to live life in exile repenting for their sins. The second is Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods to give to the humans on Earth, but unlike Adam and Eve, Prometheus knew his disobedience was not in wrong faith and lived the rest of his life chained to the Caucasus Mountains saying “I would rather be chained to this rock than be the obedient servant of the gods” (Fromm 575). With these two scenarios in mind it helps Fromm understand that there is a difference between disobeying out of curiosity and disobeying to advance our world. This story then leads Fromm to talk about Antigone, whom felt that even though her brother defied the king, he still deserved a proper burial. By defying the king, Antigone was conscious of her own religious faiths and did as she believed to be