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Fromm's Disobedience As A Psychological And Moral Problem

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Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem Everyone thinks that disobeying is a bad thing however there are several situations where disobeying is the best and moral option. Mankind has been defined on disobedience until recently when everyone has put their trust in leaders poised for nuclear annihilation. As a result of such threats mankind should disobey for the greater good of mankind. This is conveyed well in the piece of writing as the author argued logically, used significant information of mankind disobeying and obeying, and by the use of interpreting information fairly to help convey the writer’s opinion. Summary Fromm’s essay describes how mankind began by an act of disobedience when Adam ate fruit from a forbidden tree. This …show more content…

Fromm describes how disobedience created humanity and it has even moved the human race into the atomic age. However, he states that if an act of disobedience created mankind, then can an act of obedience end mankind? Through fair interpretation this can be reasoned to be true as the essay quotes, “If mankind commits suicide it will be because people will obey those who command them to push the deadly buttons; because they will obey the archaic passions of fear, hate, and greed; because they will obey obsolete clichés of State sovereignty and national honor” (Fromm, 575). This statement is proven to be true as he states that in today’s world, a technological civilization is run by men and women who still think like primates. This means that an egotistic leader can end civilization just with the flick of a nuclear switch. However, the real call for launching a nuke comes down to two other men who either must obey or disobey the leader. If they obey then the world will be in trouble, but if they disobey then the world might just live another day. The fact is this type of logic is found throughout many countries. Therefore, this interpretation of information strengthens the overall essay and his argument. Personal Thought I believe that Fromm is right, and I do believe in his opinion. This is backed up by his capability of putting ideas into an essay and conveying those ideas. Such as the example of Adam and Eve, this makes sense that if they had not disobeyed then mankind would not exist, so disobedience is not as bad in certain context. The overall piece has made me think his argument is valid so therefore I believe in the writings main point that it is trying to get across.

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