Milgram conducted his famous obedience to authority experiment to try to underst
ID: 3446818 • Letter: M
Question
Milgram conducted his famous obedience to authority experiment to try to understand why ordinary Germans eventually were driven to participate in Nazi. Many scientists and physicians (including the infamous Dr. Mengele) conducted very atrocious medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners at the behest of Nazi officials. Do the results of Milgram's experiment help to explain why these physicians participated in these acts of torture? What does this suggest about human nature in general and the necessity for safeguards in contemporary medical/social science research?
Explanation / Answer
Stanley Milgram’s experiments on obedience were a hallmark attempt by a psychologist to understand the cause behind one of the most historic social event of the century-the holocaust. The Nazi regime opened up new but devastating prospects of an alliance between scientific research and state politics. WhileDr. Mengele’s experiments on the Jewish prisonersin the concentration camp were aimed at formulating ‘new scientific discoveries’ they were nonetheless premised on the fascist ideology of ethnic cleansing and to establish the supremacy Teutonic race. The Nazi scientists thus constituted a community of researchers who went contradictory to the ethic of openness and skeptisim of science and instead they Carried out their studies in response to the orders of the government. Thus while in their own testimonies they simply appear to be practising ethically by following the rule sof the authority, in actuality, their response of obedience led them to perform atrocious experiments which were highly immoral on grounds of the harm done to the participants. In his study, Milgram asked the experimental group to manipulae a mechanism of delivering mild electrical shock to an individual if the latter gave incorrect responses to the series of questions. In the study, the task performers were confiderates of the experiment and the participants were then exposed to a situation where they could either hear the confederate shouting/moaning in pain upon delivery of the shock or they did not hear any painful response from the confederate. Milgram found that, majority of participants in the experimentally group continued to deliver shock to the confederates at greater intensity even when they could hear the confederate shouting. The findings of his study have significant implications for understanding the behaviour of the Nazi scientists and doctors as well as military personnel who carry out acts of aggression out of command. The Milgram study on obedience shows that authority has a greater influence on determining one’s actions even if it goes against the general universal morality. For the field of science and medicine, it unfolds how participants and patients need to be safeguarded from instances of violence and they do not become prey to the scientific hunger for ‘greater common good’ and ideas of ‘unique discoveries’,