Milgrams "obedience" & The Stanford Prisoner Experiment

Discussion of Julian Jaynes's second hypothesis - the bicameral mind, specifically the subtopic of hypnosis, trance states, and possession as vestiges of the bicameral mind.
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ignosympathnoramus
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Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:56 pm

Milgrams "obedience" & The Stanford Prisoner Experiment

Post by ignosympathnoramus »

It just struck me that the behavioral predispositions shown in both of these experiments should be counted as further vestiges of bicamerality. It is very interesting how "depersonalization" or "deindividuation," of both the guards and the prisoners, was so key. Also interesting is the role of authority and social precedent. Zimbardo writes that "That's one way that evil is created, as blind obedience to authority. But more often than not, somebody doesn't have to tell you to do something. You're just in a setting where you look around and everyone else is doing it." Not only should this susceptibility to "authority" and the "authority of the group" be seen as a vestige of bicamerality, but also our rather fragile and precarious "individuation."
shrimperdude
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Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:51 pm

Re: Milgrams "obedience" & The Stanford Prisoner Experiment

Post by shrimperdude »

if we could only make adequate sense of a bunch of blond Lutheran boys exterminating 6 million Jews

or the godliest nation on the planet(America) unleashing thermo-nuclear destruction on civilians in two Japanese cities

or certain intelligence agencies considering the loss of several thousand stock brokers acceptable collateral damage

then we might be able to avert the coming disaster; a great tree being blasted to nothing more than a stump; read Isaiah!
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