Ethics Quote by Wikipedia
““The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. They measured the willingness of study participants, men from a diverse range of occupations with varying levels of education, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience; the experiment found, unexpectedly, that a very high proportion of people were prepared to obey, albeit unwillingly, even if apparently causing serious injury and distress.””
About This Quote
Source Study: Milgram obedience experiments, Yale University, 1961–1963
The experiments showed many people will follow harmful orders from authority despite personal morals.
In simple terms: People obey authority even harming others.
Question authority and protect personal ethics.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- workplace directives
- military commands
- medical consent
- law enforcement orders
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What limits would you set for authority demands?
- How can institutions foster moral courage?
Obedience can be driven by fear of repercussions, not belief.