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The Justification of Responsibility

 

In most cases, the teacher dispensed painless levels of shock to the learners.
             The Zimbardo experiment, conducted at Stanford University, involved three main roles: the prisoner, guard, and warder. One morning a group of twenty-one students were handcuffed, arrested, blindfolded, and taken to "Stanford County Prison" without any explanation. The students were stripped naked while the warden explained the rules of prison life. The researchers placed hidden microphones into their window-less cells in order to hear the reactions of the guards and prisoners. As a result "nominal, healthy, educated young men could be so radically transformed under the institutional pressures of a prison environment" (Zimbardo, 1973, p.12) and due to the stressful situation, several of the students developed psychological issues and were released from the study.
             Learner vs. Prisoner.
             In the Milgram experiment, the learner justifies his or her responsibility by placing blame on the experimenter. The learner's main role is to be an actor and make the teacher believe that the shock administered is real. For this reason the learner must be a skilled actor and portray him or herself as being realistically hurt. Milgram (1974) observed that the learner felt no guilt about screaming, despite possessing the knowledge that it was causing a nervous reaction in the teacher (p.2). Instead of feeling bad, the learner placed all blame on the experimenter with the belief that the experiment was in the name of science. In other words the learner is actually convinced that by sending thousands of electrical volts though someone's body, he or she is adding to scientific research. Although the learner has the ability to stop the study, he or she does not do so .
             The Justification of Responsibility 4.
             because he or she is able to relinquish his or her responsibility by holding the experimenter accountable for his actions.
             In the Zimbardo experiment prisoners are able to abandon their responsibilities by using the classic excuse of "everyone else is doing it".


Essays Related to The Justification of Responsibility

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5. Ethical Debates Surrounding Human Rights

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7. Medical Experimentation on Animals

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8. Summary of Dr. King

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