Morality Lost

another 'Milgram test' proved to us again that people will do what society tells them to do. isnt it disgusting that

US researchers repeated the famous "Milgram test", with volunteers told to deliver electrical shocks to another volunteer - played by an actor. Even after faked screams of pain, 70% were prepared to increase the voltage, the American Psychology study found. Both may help explain why apparently ordinary people can commit atrocities...
When the pretend 150-volt shock was delivered, the actor could be heard screaming in pain, and yet, when asked to, more than eight out of ten volunteers were prepared to give further shocks, even when the "voltage" was gradually increased threefold.

Some volunteers even carried on giving 450-volt shocks even when there was no further response from the actor, suggesting he was either unconscious or dead. BBC

---no, this wasnt an episode of Fringe, these are normal people like you and me who im guessing apparently never heard of the Milgram test...why on earth would someone do something like that to another human, i bet if it were a dog or something they wouldve protested against the torture. maybe thats it, maybe they believe that the other person who is being tortured volunteered for it which makes it then okay.

this reminds me of a book a read called The Road and i was wondering what person i would turn out to be in a post-apocalyptic world. would i be the one preying on defenseless humans to devour them or be the guy who tries to protect them or i could be a person minding my own business trying to survive. i believe most of us would be the bad guys which is sad but history proves it, like nazi germany.

[edit on 19-12-2008 by DuneKnight]

Look at the president, he has been the most uncaring person that has ever been in office. It all starts somewhere, monkey see monkey do! Good post.

Well... reminds me of the events of WWII. But there poeple were thinking they are helping themselvs.

Also remember that morality differs greatly from ethics. Depending on a belief system doing something "wrong" that you are told at all times can be called moral. But it will never be ethical.

We are tought that almost everything that is legal is more or less moral. There were no punishement offered for increasing the voltage so... why the hell not?

Appalling. Where do they get their volunteers from?