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Stanley Milgram was a psychologist famous for conducting the 1961 electroshock experiment that Timothy Snyder cites in Chapter One. In this experiment, Milgram asked subjects to deliver progressively greater electroshocks to a stranger behind a pane of glass (who was actually an actor pretending to be shocked). Milgram found that people obeyed the researcher’s orders even when their electroshocks appeared to kill the actor, which shows how normal people blindly obey authority rather than standing up to it, even when this authority is immoral and corrupt. For Snyder, this shows how tyrants can easily convince their nations’ citizens to give them greater power and condone horrific crimes.
Stanley Milgram Quotes in On Tyranny
The On Tyranny quotes below are all either spoken by Stanley Milgram or refer to Stanley Milgram. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
People whom they did not know, and against whom they had no grievance, seemed to be suffering greatly—pounding the glass and complaining of heart pain. Even so, most subjects followed Milgram's instructions and continued to apply (what they thought were) ever greater shocks until the victims appeared to die. Even those who did not proceed all the way to the (apparent) killing of their fellow human beings left without inquiring about the health of the other participants.
Milgram grasped that people are remarkably receptive to new rules in a new setting. They are surprisingly willing to harm and kill others in the service of some new purpose if they are so instructed by a new authority.
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Stanley Milgram Quotes in On Tyranny
The On Tyranny quotes below are all either spoken by Stanley Milgram or refer to Stanley Milgram. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
People whom they did not know, and against whom they had no grievance, seemed to be suffering greatly—pounding the glass and complaining of heart pain. Even so, most subjects followed Milgram's instructions and continued to apply (what they thought were) ever greater shocks until the victims appeared to die. Even those who did not proceed all the way to the (apparent) killing of their fellow human beings left without inquiring about the health of the other participants.
Milgram grasped that people are remarkably receptive to new rules in a new setting. They are surprisingly willing to harm and kill others in the service of some new purpose if they are so instructed by a new authority.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Unlock explanations and citation info for this and every other On Tyranny quote.
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