In the essay, "Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem," Ericc Fromm discusses the seductive comforts of obedience, and he makes distinctions among varieties of obedience. Adam and Eve were believed to be the start of history. They started in the Garden of Eden. This garden was their home. They were in nature as the fetus is in the womb of the mother (2). They were human, and at the same time not yet human (2). Their lives as humans was believed to have started by the first act of disobedience. This bond broke their connection with nature and made them the individual humans they became. Historians have supported the idea that man had been right to disobey. Another example given, is when Prometheus stole fire from the gods, laying the foundation for the evolution of man (4). If Prometheus had not disobeyed there would be no human history. When he was punished he refused to repent and confess his sins. On the contrary, he proudly says: "I would rather be chained to this rock than be the obedient servant of the gods." (4) The evolution and spiritual and mental growth of man has all happened because of a disobedient man. Isaac Newton defied the government and church when he did his research, but his research has had a major part in our science. If he had not been perused his research, we would not have the knowledge we have now. .
If the capacity for the disobedience constitutes the beginning of human history, obedience might very well, as I have said, cause the end of human history (6). Man today is stuck emotionally in the Stone Age. 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 cliches of State sovereignty and national honor (6). As Americans, we live in a "free" country. We are not told what we can and cannot do, although we frown upon people when they are disobedient to theiuuur family, authorities, and government.
