Milgram Experiment: ‘I was only following orders’ ​

As the article explains, the Milgram Experiment is an experiment that explores the boundaries of human obedience to authority. In order to achieve it, many subjects were told to give shocks, that increased as the experiment went on, to another (fake) person who they couldn’t see, but could hear shouting, begging and screaming. 

The results brought that 100% of the subjects obeyed up to 300 Volts, and more than 60% of them arrived to the maximum potency (450 Volts).

This experiment exposed that in determining obedience conditions, human are capable of monstrous acts. In my opinion, what makes it possible is to not empathize with the person who you are hurting. Apart from this, from my view, obedience is not about how authoritarian the person who instructs you is. From my view, it’s all about responsibility: if there’s someone who instructs you to obey orders, you will probably feel less responsible or guilty of what you did.

In conclusion, Milgram Experiment was one of the most interesting and concluding experiments about obedience. And proved that human are capable of terrible acts when following orders. Because, in my opinion, obedience means a lack of responsibility, with the excuse of “I was only following orders”.