“Human history began with an act of disobedience, and it is not unlikely that it will be terminated by an act of obedience” (Fromm, 1981, ¶1). Comparing this statement to the historical idea that obedience is a virtue and disobedience is a vice is the basis of Erich Fromm’s essay entitled “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” (1981).
Referencing historical and biblical accounts, Fromm claims that mankind was not human until the point of the first disobedient act, at which point the transformation from “prehuman harmony” began (¶2). He states that mankind endures as a result of continued disobedience. Fromm uses several comparison examples to make his argument on disobedience versus obedience. He notes the extremes to his argument, such as a slave versus a rebel and the various degrees of obedience in between, including “autonomous obedience”: the act of obeying because one believes it is right based on one’s own moral convictions (¶8). Fromm......

Join Now to view the rest of this term paper!
Members: Login to view this research paper.

Title: Critique Of “disobedienc As A Psychological And Moral Problem”
Approximate Word Count: 465
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

With the Term Papers Lab Membership Pass, you get instant access to every essay on this site, including this essay on Critique Of “disobedienc As A Psychological And Moral Problem”, for as long as you remain a member.

Other essays sites charge almost $100 for a single term paper. At Term Papers Lab, you can get instant access to over 100,000 research papers for as little as $29.95!