Post by THE GREAT OZ on Nov 1, 2011 18:17:51 GMT
I watched a program the other night that gave me great pause. In fact, it almost brought me to tears. I don't cry easily so this tells of the impact it made upon me. It was an experiment that was originally done by Stanley Milgram in July 1961. It is now fifty years later and the results of this experiment shocked me. First I will give you some back ground on the experiment. The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of notable experiments in social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. The experiments began in July 1961. Milgram devised his psychological study to answer the question: "Was it that Eichmann and his accomplices in the Holocaust had mutual intent, in at least with regard to the goals of the Holocaust?" In other words, "Was there a mutual sense of morality among those involved?" Milgram's testing suggested that it could have been that the millions of accomplices were merely following orders, despite violating their deepest moral beliefs. his experiments were also controversial, and considered by some scientists to be unethical or psychologically abusive, motivating more thorough review boards for the use of human subjects.The volunteer subject was given the role of teacher, and the actor, the role of learner.
The participants drew slips of paper to "determine" their roles. Unknown to the subject, both slips said "teacher", and the actor claimed to have the slip that read "learner", thus guaranteeing that the participant would always be the "teacher". At this point, the "teacher" and "learner" were separated into different rooms where they could communicate but not see each other. In the experiment, the learner was sure to mention to the participant that he had a heart condition. The experiment was that a "teacher" was given an electric shock from the electro-shock generator as a sample of the shock that the "learner" would supposedly receive during the experiment. The "teacher" was then given a list of word pairs which he was to teach the learner. The teacher began by reading the list of word pairs to the learner. The teacher would then read the first word of each pair and read four possible answers. The learner would press a button to indicate his response. If the answer was incorrect, the teacher would administer a shock to the learner, with the voltage increasing in 15-volt increments for each wrong answer. If correct, the teacher would read the next word pair. The subjects believed that for each wrong answer, the learner was receiving actual shocks. In reality, there were no shocks. After the learner was separated from the subject, the learner set up a tape recorder integrated with the electro-shock generator, which played pre-recorded sounds for each shock level. After a number of voltage level increases, the actor started to bang on the wall that separated him from the subject. After several times banging on the wall and complaining about his heart condition, all responses by the learner would cease.
Now this sets the stage for the experiment that was done on the program. The participants were chosen from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities. It was done exactly as in the original experiment in 1961. The outcome? Exactly the same as it was 50 years ago. No difference whatsoever. I watched while time after time 'supposed' electrical shocks were given to the learner from the teacher for every wrong answer. A few of the participants showed discomfort in giving the shocks, asked the 'scientist' (also an actor) if they should check on the learner after shrieks and complaints and the scientist only said, "It is imperative we finish the experiment." He did not say the participants had to continue he just kept repeating "...imperiative we finish the experiment." And the teacher would look very uncomfortable but still continue to give the shocks while listening to shrieks and moans from his learner.
It hit me very hard that after 50 years we have not learned one thing about our morals, intent,free will and responsibility to our fellow man. This is what almost brought me to tears. We, as a society, pride ourselves in our humanity and peaceful ways, but put an authority figure in the mix and the results are astonishing. I watched, time after time, shocks being given to the learner and saw the discomfort the teacher was experiencing, but even after questioning what they were doing, they proceeded with little protest while again prodded on by the mere statement, "...imperative to finish the experiment."
One of the interesting aspects of this test, is that all involved that acted as teachers signed a form stating that they could stop or withdraw from the experiment at any time with no ramifications or reprisals. So what spurned all these people to continue 'harming' their fellow man. Was it the authoritative scientist figure? Did they fear retribution from stopping the experiment? What went on in the minds of these people?
Fifty years and the experiment was like a snap shot of the past. What is happening to our ethics and morals? What happen to our free will? It reflects today, that even given free will, we still blindly follow orders or commands from those that are higher up and deemed knowledgeable in their endeavors. Does evil still exist? Yes it does and it is still rampant even in today's society. 9-11 is a perfect example. The world was told it was a terrorist act and the world just shook and believed it. But was it? Or was it actually someone in power trying to change or create the illusion of an act to justify an outcome? Have we, as mankind, lost the idea of what free will really encompasses? Are we so used to being told what to do by people in power that we blindly do as we are told?
This program woke me up from a dream life and threw reality straight into my face. Why did I just now see it? I didn't want to believe that's why. Do people even think twice of handing over lives to someone in power? Even when questionable acts are committed, are questions asked or does one just sit passively by and rely on the 'truth' of the one in power? This is exactly how the Holocaust came to be. Blindly following the orders of one in power to do his dirty deeds. What aspect of our human nature allows us to react and do this type of thing? We have the power of free will and yet we hand over our lives to those few in power that have taken great steps in the wrong direction in the name of...the good of mankind? If this were so, why is the world in the state it is now? Have we, as mankind, willingly handed over our rights and free will to the few in power and is it too late to get it back? These are just many of the questions this one sixty minute program brought to mind for me. It is truly sad.
At the end of the program, the real scientist came into the room and asked one very important question, "If something had harmed or hurt your learner, who would take the responsibility for it?" The answers shocked me. Most stuttered and did not answer. Some pointed a finger at the 'scientist", most took no responsibility for their own actions. What does this say about us as a race of evolved human beings? Have we not learned anything from our mistakes or other atrocities that has occurred throughout the world?
This program left me with more questions than answers. What would I have done if I had been a 'teacher' in this experiment? I don't think I could go on knowing harm may be given by my hand to another person, but would an authoritative figure giving me commands cause me do different? It is time we all took our free will and use it for the greater good of mankind, regardless of the consequences. Can you step up to the challenge? Does a few change the mind of many?
Food for thought, yes, food for thought.
Bless OZ
SOURCE
The participants drew slips of paper to "determine" their roles. Unknown to the subject, both slips said "teacher", and the actor claimed to have the slip that read "learner", thus guaranteeing that the participant would always be the "teacher". At this point, the "teacher" and "learner" were separated into different rooms where they could communicate but not see each other. In the experiment, the learner was sure to mention to the participant that he had a heart condition. The experiment was that a "teacher" was given an electric shock from the electro-shock generator as a sample of the shock that the "learner" would supposedly receive during the experiment. The "teacher" was then given a list of word pairs which he was to teach the learner. The teacher began by reading the list of word pairs to the learner. The teacher would then read the first word of each pair and read four possible answers. The learner would press a button to indicate his response. If the answer was incorrect, the teacher would administer a shock to the learner, with the voltage increasing in 15-volt increments for each wrong answer. If correct, the teacher would read the next word pair. The subjects believed that for each wrong answer, the learner was receiving actual shocks. In reality, there were no shocks. After the learner was separated from the subject, the learner set up a tape recorder integrated with the electro-shock generator, which played pre-recorded sounds for each shock level. After a number of voltage level increases, the actor started to bang on the wall that separated him from the subject. After several times banging on the wall and complaining about his heart condition, all responses by the learner would cease.
Now this sets the stage for the experiment that was done on the program. The participants were chosen from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities. It was done exactly as in the original experiment in 1961. The outcome? Exactly the same as it was 50 years ago. No difference whatsoever. I watched while time after time 'supposed' electrical shocks were given to the learner from the teacher for every wrong answer. A few of the participants showed discomfort in giving the shocks, asked the 'scientist' (also an actor) if they should check on the learner after shrieks and complaints and the scientist only said, "It is imperative we finish the experiment." He did not say the participants had to continue he just kept repeating "...imperiative we finish the experiment." And the teacher would look very uncomfortable but still continue to give the shocks while listening to shrieks and moans from his learner.
It hit me very hard that after 50 years we have not learned one thing about our morals, intent,free will and responsibility to our fellow man. This is what almost brought me to tears. We, as a society, pride ourselves in our humanity and peaceful ways, but put an authority figure in the mix and the results are astonishing. I watched, time after time, shocks being given to the learner and saw the discomfort the teacher was experiencing, but even after questioning what they were doing, they proceeded with little protest while again prodded on by the mere statement, "...imperative to finish the experiment."
One of the interesting aspects of this test, is that all involved that acted as teachers signed a form stating that they could stop or withdraw from the experiment at any time with no ramifications or reprisals. So what spurned all these people to continue 'harming' their fellow man. Was it the authoritative scientist figure? Did they fear retribution from stopping the experiment? What went on in the minds of these people?
Fifty years and the experiment was like a snap shot of the past. What is happening to our ethics and morals? What happen to our free will? It reflects today, that even given free will, we still blindly follow orders or commands from those that are higher up and deemed knowledgeable in their endeavors. Does evil still exist? Yes it does and it is still rampant even in today's society. 9-11 is a perfect example. The world was told it was a terrorist act and the world just shook and believed it. But was it? Or was it actually someone in power trying to change or create the illusion of an act to justify an outcome? Have we, as mankind, lost the idea of what free will really encompasses? Are we so used to being told what to do by people in power that we blindly do as we are told?
This program woke me up from a dream life and threw reality straight into my face. Why did I just now see it? I didn't want to believe that's why. Do people even think twice of handing over lives to someone in power? Even when questionable acts are committed, are questions asked or does one just sit passively by and rely on the 'truth' of the one in power? This is exactly how the Holocaust came to be. Blindly following the orders of one in power to do his dirty deeds. What aspect of our human nature allows us to react and do this type of thing? We have the power of free will and yet we hand over our lives to those few in power that have taken great steps in the wrong direction in the name of...the good of mankind? If this were so, why is the world in the state it is now? Have we, as mankind, willingly handed over our rights and free will to the few in power and is it too late to get it back? These are just many of the questions this one sixty minute program brought to mind for me. It is truly sad.
At the end of the program, the real scientist came into the room and asked one very important question, "If something had harmed or hurt your learner, who would take the responsibility for it?" The answers shocked me. Most stuttered and did not answer. Some pointed a finger at the 'scientist", most took no responsibility for their own actions. What does this say about us as a race of evolved human beings? Have we not learned anything from our mistakes or other atrocities that has occurred throughout the world?
This program left me with more questions than answers. What would I have done if I had been a 'teacher' in this experiment? I don't think I could go on knowing harm may be given by my hand to another person, but would an authoritative figure giving me commands cause me do different? It is time we all took our free will and use it for the greater good of mankind, regardless of the consequences. Can you step up to the challenge? Does a few change the mind of many?
Food for thought, yes, food for thought.
Bless OZ
SOURCE
