Joshua at Jericho

Salem Witch Trials

• In 1692, 20 were executed in Massachusetts

Turkish-Armenian Genocide

• 1.5 million of 2.5 million Armenians in Turkey were exterminated between 1915 and 1923.

• "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Holocaust

• Six million Jews (67% of Europe’s population) were exterminated

• Others: Roma, mentally retarded, mentally disturbed, 3 million Soviet POWs, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Communists, Socialists

Cambodia: Killing Fields

• Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge kill 1.7 million (21% of population)

Rwanda

• In 1994, within 100 days 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus are exterminated

Kosovo: Ethnic Cleansing

Questions Involving Genocide

• Will genocide be a consistent state of affairs during the next several decades?

• Under what conditions should the US intervene to prevent genocide?

• To what extent should color, culture, religion and economics matter?

• What social conditions lead otherwise good women and men to kill their neighbors?

William Shirer’s Analysis

• Why did so few Germans resist working in the concentration camps?

• A summation of western history since the Magna Carta

• Flaw in German national character

• Implies that a German-style concentration would not flourish in the US, Britain, France, Italy, etc

Nuremberg Trials

• Hermann Goering’s statement

• Nazi defense

• Justice Jackson’s summation

Hannah Arendt and Adolph Eichmann

• Arendt was a prominent social philosopher employed by the New York Times to cover the Eichmann trial

• Summarized her conclusion in Eichmann in Jerusalem: On the Banality of Evil

Adolph Eichmann

• Eichmann: His responsibilities during WWII

• Post-war fugitive

• Capture by the Israelis

• What kind of person would contribute to the deaths of millions of persons

Adolph Eichmann and Arendt’s Hypothesis

• Slightly above average intelligence, no sign of pathology on psychological tests, good organizer

• Other than during the ‘Final Solution’ there is o evidence of criminal activity

• Viewed himself as a good soldier who believed that not one Jew died because he was born

• Arendt’s Hypothesis: In obedience to authority the average person will commit extreme anti-social actions such as mass murder.

Mai Lai

William Calley

• Led massacre of 300 unarmed women, children, and elderly

• Sentenced to life at hard labor

• Served 5 months and was pardoned by Nixon

• Married and living a ‘normal’ life outside of Ft Benning, GA

Hugh Thompson

• put his guns on Americans, said he would shoot them if they shot another Vietnamese, had his people wade in the ditch in gore to their knees, to their hips, took out children, took them to the hospital...

• Awarded Soldier’s Medal in 1996

• Living a ‘normal’ life

Theories of Obedience to Unjust Authority

• Nazis were an aberration in history

• Shirer: Flaw in German character

• Arendt: Flaw in human character

• Milgram: A social psychologist looks at obedience

Milgram’s Baseline Procedure

Milgram’s Baseline Procedure

• 63% shock to the limit (STL)

Questions From Milgram’s Paradigm (1)

• Is blind obedience to authority a distinctly American characteristic?

• Did the ‘teacher’ enjoy shocking the ‘learner?’

• Does the status of the authority figure affect obedience?

Questions From Milgram’s Paradigm (2)

• Does the personality of the victim affect obedience?

• Are the personalities of the maximally obedient and maximally rebellious subjects different?

• How would a moral person respond in Milgram’s study?

Questions From Milgram’s Paradigm (3)

• Were Milgram’s results predictable?

• Why are Milgram’s results surprising?

• A naive belief in the relationship of morality to behavior

Ethical Criticisms of Milgram’s Work

• No true informed consent

• Participants experienced significant stress

• Long-term negative effects on self-worth

Milgram’s Response To Ethical Criticism

• Extensive debriefing• After session discovered learner was not harmed• Participants were free to leave• No evidence of permanent psychological harm

Follow-up of Milgram’s Participants

• 80% reported that they were “Very Glad” or “Glad” they participated.

• 15% had “No Strong Feelings”• Just over 1% were “Sorry” or “Very Sorry”• 80% said more research of this kind should be done. • 74% said they learned something of lasting value.

A Question Mark: The Cost of Ethics?

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How To Get Good Men and Women To Murder Their Neighbors

• Get them to say:

• I hate or

• I would never