“Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem” by Erich Fromm

Disobedience in the human history began with an act of disobedience, Failure or refusal to obey rules or in authorities and religious faiths. Is this, however, a bad thing? Erich Fromm would argue the capacity for disobedience the condition for freedom. In Erich Fromm’s “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem,” Mr. Fromm described, People must want obey, instead fearing to disobey.

Erich Fromm starts his argument on the basis that, human history began with an act of disobedience, starting from the myth Hebrew Adam and Eve. There were in the Garden of Eden, they were in the state of harmony, but they broke there tie’s Mother, by failing to follow orders and being disobedient, Came to earth to as human, to start their way to impendence and freedom. They recognized each other as strangers, wanted to go back to the Garden of Eden so dearly, but know it will come with hard work and forgiveness.

Through these actions now, many people across the world know it can be very hard work to have individual to search for independence, because Adam and Eve was disobedience. The Geeks also had disobedience, through the action of Prometheus. Prometheus was stealing “fire from the Gods,” causing him not to obey like Adam and Eve causing him to get punished for his disobedience. Prometheus, refusing to ask forgiveness and proudly saying, “I would rather be chained to this rock than be the obedient servant of the gods.” Showing the poorest quality, the lowest standard of man in actions and the beginning of history of human kind. Both cases show, acts necessary for humanity’s progression. People of group’s disobedience have reshaped the world many times over, causing humanity to evolve into what it has become today.

Fromm then point out, that humanity has continue to evolve of acts of disobedience, being disobedient to authorities and trying to muzzle new thought, because there are men that don’t say no to the power that be in their conscience or faith. Then Mr. Fromm goes in the word conscience, conscience can used two phenomena. Authoritarian conscience, people who eager to please and afraid of displeasing, people who try their best to obey there conscience, Fromm said, Freud call this “Super Ego.” Humanistic Conscience is based on the fact that human being we have an intuitive knowledge of what human and what’s inhuman. On the other hand, Mr., Fromm is distinguishing, what is irrational from rational. Rational authority is rational because the authority as to Student and Teacher, a rational plan for humanity growth and development. Irrational authority has to use force or suggestion, deprived for reason Slave and Master; no one would want to be exploited, not by free will.

Fromm then talks about, “How disobedience is a difficult word for humanity to take to heart,” and how one can prone to obey and why it’s hard to disobey A person can be free through acts of disobedience, to emerged from mother’s lap and father’s commands, then one shell fully develop as individual to think and feel for himself/herself. Obedience which is only rooted in the fear of force, then transformed in rooted in one’s heart. You must want to obey then of fearing disobey. It’s good to detest disobedience, because it’s bad. Proclaim that disobedience is bad, and obedience is good. Mr. Fromm then said, only then you can have the courage to say “No” to power to disobey.

When we be disobedient, we can sometimes, heart ourselves, or other, we must have and heart be understand disobeying can bring a lot of hardship, as in Eichmann is a symbolic in Jerusalem, for killing a lot of men, women, and children. He says he was innocence for what he did, because he as following orders. Orders from authorities, someone in power can sometime be disobedience, because they can be an error, and then make you disobey as well by following, even if you think it’s right, you just have to know when to obey, and not.