Erich Fromm's Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem

The Nuremburg Trials of 1945 were some of the most controversial military tribunals to be held in the 20th century. In the trials, Nazi war criminals were put on trial for the atrocities they committed against the Jewish population of Germany. When asked why they had committed such acts of horror, many of the Nazi soldiers attested by saying that they were under orders to do so. The trials questioned the motives behind instances of mass human torment which have led many scientists and psychologists to strive to understand the rationality behind human obedience. Two of these psychologists, Theodore Dalrymple and Erich Fromm explored the instances in which disobedience and obedience to authority should be applied. Fromm wrote his article

“The fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is a most monstrous crime to rob it of the life, which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man 's house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light. “ (Calvin, 1984)

In the pursuit of safety, acceptance, and the public good, many atrocities have been committed in places such as Abu Ghraib and My Lai, where simple, generally harmless people became the wiling torturers and murderers of innocent people. Many claim to have just been following orders, which illustrates a disturbing trend in both the modern military and modern societies as a whole; when forced into an obedient mindset, many normal and everyday people can become tools of destruction and sorrow, uncaringly inflicting pain and death upon the innocent.

Erich Fromm’s essay “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” suggests that humankind’s evolution has, and continues to rely on man’s capability to exercise disobedience. While discussing the positions of disobedience being considered a vice, and obedience being a virtue, Fromm reflects upon the history of Adam and Eve believing that “eating the forbidden fruit” was man’s first act of disobedience. This is the point that broke the bond between man and nature requiring man to be dependant upon his own powers, while rewarding him with his “complete” humanity, freedom,

I am a firm believer that life is a gift from God, and that the creation of life in the womb is created by God when a man and a woman have engage in sexual intercourse. I also believe that there are times when babies are created at an inopportune time for the parents. This doesn’t mean that the life created was a mistake, I just think that there are times when partners may agree that they aren;t ready for the responsibility of raising a child. For example think of the baby that is created as a result of rape or incest, should the mother of the child be forced to give birth to the child? Although the life created is by God and should still be considered a blessing, what type of life would the child have if it’s mother has on desire to care for it, or if she isn’t mentally or finically unprepared to care for the child or herself.

In 1891, Irish author Oscar Wilde observed,” Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and through rebellion. Sometimes negatives bring positives.

Erich Fromm’s essay “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” suggests that humankind’s evolution has, and continues to rely on man’s capability to exercise disobedience. While discussing the positions of disobedience being considered a vice, and obedience being a virtue, Fromm reflects upon the history of Adam and Eve believing

Civil disobedience spawns a major and widely debated issue by many who established by well-known intelligent scholars and many examples of civil disobedience become displayed. The acts of civil disobedience can be noted in major works such as Sophocles?s Antigone, King?s ?Letter from Birmingham Jail?, or even from Plato?s ?from Crito?. A specific claim exemplified throughout these works make that civil disobedience races in gaining popularity and should remain allowed, and continued to be seen as a solution to reform poorly established laws. A claim represented is, civil disobedience is right. Rhetorically, appeals such

Erich Fromm wrote "Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem," in 1963, an essay detailing balance between obedience and disobedience.

Proponents of punishing pregnant women, who put their fetuses at risk, have highlighted some pertinent legal and ethical issues. One is that a viable fetus (fetus after 27 weeks gestation) has certain rights and privileges. They are of the opinion that as soon as the fetus is viable and can survive independently from it mother, it becomes a

Why someone may cause harm to themselves by eating too much food or starve themselves is different in any case throughout society, but the real question is why someone would follow through with the voice telling them to do it. In the article “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” author Erich Fromm would say that the reason a person would ever inflict this kind of pain upon oneself is because of their humanistic conscience. Fromm says that the humanistic conscience is “the ability to be and to judge oneself” (126). So if someone does not like their appearance then they will listen to their conscience that is telling them that they are not good enough, and physically hurt themselves to the point where it has become life threatening. Fromm would also say that disobedience has a negative reputation. Fromm says “...history obedience has been identified with virtue and disobedience with sin” (127). Throughout history, disobedience has been seen as a wrong thing to do, so people have been obedient to things that they should not be. So when someone's conscience tells them to eat another slice of pizza to make them happy and take their mind off the bad things, then they listen because they believe it is the right thing to do, which it is not. Fromm explains how someone can overcome this voice is to just say no, which is a hard thing to do. He states “A person can become free through acts of disobedience by learning to say no to power”(127). Learning to say no is

Now approaching my other inclination, from the day we came into this world, we have had our decisions made` by others. Even today our decisions are made by others; we don’t see it clearly but who’s to say our decisions aren’t based on what society expects. We have been taught that disobedience is a vice and that obedience is a virtue. In fact, its actually the opposite; Many believe the first act that was committed by humankind was an act of disobedience when Adam and Eve disobeyed orders and ate the forbidden fruit. This act freed mankind, showing the importance of disobedience, without the acts of disobedience humans couldn’t have evolved. The way to become free is by disobeying power and by having the courage to say no. Throughout history, we have seen famous figures such as Nelson Mandela and his fight against Apartheid, and Martin Luther King Jr’s bravery during the civil rights movement. Nevertheless, these are my two view points which have changed with time its arduous to side with

The debate over abortion comes down to one essential issue — the moral status of the unborn

[7] Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-14): Jesus is born in fulfillment of OT promises and messianic predictions. Overcoming Barrenness (Genesis 11:29-30; 25:21; Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1:7, 26-38): In connection with his plan to use childbirth to deal with evil, God overcomes the “would-be” obstacle of barrenness in significant Biblical characters. Beyond this, not even virginity is an obstacle for God to bring about the birth of a child. 1 Timothy 2:15: This verse connects childbearing and salvation in reference to Eve and women – “she will be saved through childbirth.” Whatever the verse actually means, it at least puts childbearing in a very positive light. Main point: If God has utilized the process of childbearing to bring about salvation for the entire world, childbearing itself must be good and valuable. Abortion, on the other hand, treats “not being pregnant” as more important than the life of a child in the womb. (3) Childbearing in Biblical Poetry On a few occasions the Psalms speak about God, the womb, and children. Select texts: •

The article I found on the effects of abortion was a true story of a medical student who was pro-choice. He thought that since the baby is inside of the female, she should get to decide what happens to the baby. He thought that the woman had every right to determine the fate of her child because it was part of her, but in reality, it is not part of her, but part of God. Here is the beginning quote from the article of what he thought: