Throughout the movie, A Few Good Men, there is controversy about obedience to authority when two marines follow an order believed to be unethical. Privates Dawson and Downey, carry out a “code red”, or hazing, of another member of the unit, and were put on trial for the unintentional murder of Private Santiago. Stanley Milgram, Yale psychologist and author of “The Perils of Obedience” claims, “Some system of authority is a requirement of all communal living” (Milgram 78). Along with Milgram, Philip Zimbardo, and Erich Fromm also converse on the psychological issues regarding human behavior. Milgram’s test subjects were tricked into thinking they were electrically shocking someone if they answered a question wrong. His results on obedience can
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In the midst of the experiment, a trial that was to last two weeks, the prison guards submitted to peer pressure and brutalized the prisoners instead of protecting them. Zimbardo found his experiment to be unethical and dangerous, ending it after six long days. He might refute Milgram, contending that Dawson and Downey were “imprisoned” in their “roles” assigned to them with the fear of being “ridiculed” and “rejected” by their officers (Zimbardo 117). Fromm, psychoanalyst, philosopher, and author of “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem”, comments, “It is always an institution, or men, who use force in one form or another and fraudulently claim omnipotence” (Fromm 127). This effectively conveys Dawson and Downey’s example of blind …show more content…
According to Rob Powers, a US Military Expert and author of To Obey or Not to Obey Military Orders, “an order that is unlawful does not need to be obeyed,” because the obedience of that order can result in criminal prosecution of those who carried it out, not those who ordered it (Powers). Although members of the military are taught to obey immediately without question, they have the power to willfully disobey if the order is illegal. Perhaps refuting Fromm and agreeing with Milgram, Powers may claim that Dawson and Downey had a choice to disobey Colonel Jessup’s order, asserting that they are accountable for their actions. Dawson saw Colonel Jessup as a role model, a reason to follow the order, not wanting to disappoint him. Likewise, Downey saw Dawson as a role model, someone he looked up to and had for protection. He knew he could trust Dawson, following the code red and not thinking for himself. Fromm would view this deference as blind obedience lacking personal decision. He quotes, “a person can become free through acts of disobedience by learning to say no to power” (Fromm 127). He might say that Downey had the power to tell Dawson no but because he trusted him, he felt as though he should obey. According to Milgram, there has been a dilemma intrinsic when submitting to
In the midst of the experiment, a trial that was to last two weeks, the prison guards submitted to peer pressure and brutalized the prisoners instead of protecting them. Zimbardo found his experiment to be unethical and dangerous, ending it after six long days. He might refute Milgram, contending that Dawson and Downey were “imprisoned” in their “roles” assigned to them with the fear of being “ridiculed” and “rejected” by their officers (Zimbardo 117). Fromm, psychoanalyst, philosopher, and author of “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem”, comments, “It is always an institution, or men, who use force in one form or another and fraudulently claim omnipotence” (Fromm 127). This effectively conveys Dawson and Downey’s example of blind …show more content…
According to Rob Powers, a US Military Expert and author of To Obey or Not to Obey Military Orders, “an order that is unlawful does not need to be obeyed,” because the obedience of that order can result in criminal prosecution of those who carried it out, not those who ordered it (Powers). Although members of the military are taught to obey immediately without question, they have the power to willfully disobey if the order is illegal. Perhaps refuting Fromm and agreeing with Milgram, Powers may claim that Dawson and Downey had a choice to disobey Colonel Jessup’s order, asserting that they are accountable for their actions. Dawson saw Colonel Jessup as a role model, a reason to follow the order, not wanting to disappoint him. Likewise, Downey saw Dawson as a role model, someone he looked up to and had for protection. He knew he could trust Dawson, following the code red and not thinking for himself. Fromm would view this deference as blind obedience lacking personal decision. He quotes, “a person can become free through acts of disobedience by learning to say no to power” (Fromm 127). He might say that Downey had the power to tell Dawson no but because he trusted him, he felt as though he should obey. According to Milgram, there has been a dilemma intrinsic when submitting to