The purpose of Milgram's experiment was to learn why did the
Nazi Germany blamed all the faults and tortured Jews under simple orders
without thinking about these orders and how much can personal conscience change
or make accomplices think that these orders were inhuman. They
were two groups of people involved in the experiment. One group of people
was going to play the role of teachers and the other group of people was playing
the role of students and they were separates in two rooms. They can talk by the
window. Teachers were told to punish students once the students could not
memory the right answers by electric shock. They would increase the voltage of
the shock when students answer more questions wrong. When the voltage got
increased high enough, the students would make the sound that representing
shout or cry to express the pain. The sounds were recorded before. When the
teacher found it was dehumanization and wanted to stop the test. He had to
insist it three times until the professor in the room agreed it.
The result of the experiment was cruel. It shows that only few
of people would stop hurting others and most of people would listen
to authority without thinking. This connected to the book of Negroes. The majority
of people in that society prejudiced and afflicted the black instead of
thinking that the black are human beings as well. They did not have the proper
reasons for racism. They judged the black because they were black. They just
followed herd mentality and none came out and pointed out that the black was
not born for slave or the black and the white were equal. The weakness of the
human beings was shown. In some ways, the white were spiritual slaves as well.
They fellow the authority's orders to torture and bleed the black. They
were like the teachers in the experiment and most of them did not realize how
bad was that. The experiment and the book of the Negroes both express that most
of people would dehumanize someone if they were under orders. They would take
the orders directly instead of thinking whether it right or not. They would
feel reasonable to hurt or kill others. They became killing machines, which were
cold and would not be awaked by personal conscience.
赵潮, I agree with your opinion. I think that the result of the experiment is absolutely sad and cruel. It shows that evil and savagery live within all human, including us. In The Book of Negroes, no only white people enjoy the superiority that they have. Some black slaves get chances to take control, they work for white people and go against their people. They do it because they think that they have no choices, therefore it becomes reasonable and forgivable for them. But the truth is that they enjoy doing it because of the power that they have! Just like you wrote, they do it without thinking about if it is right or not. Human nature has its good side, but the darker side sometimes really make me feel sad!
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