Arguing, Obeying And Defying: A Rhetorical Perspective On Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Experiments

Description

Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments are among the most influential and controversial scientific studies ever conducted. The experiments are commonly understood to have shown how easily people can be led into harming another person, simply as a result of following orders. Recently, however, Milgram's studies have been subjected to a sustained critique and re-evaluation. This book draws on the vast stock of audio recordings from Milgram's experiments to reveal how these experiments can be understood as occasions for argumentation and rhetoric, rather than showing how passive subjects can be led into simply doing as they are told. In doing so, it reconsiders what we understand by 'obedience' and extends how social psychologists have understood rhetoric itself. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 2 Title - Full......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Introduction......Page 12 1 - The Obedience Experiments......Page 25 2 - Re-Evaluating Milgram......Page 52 3 - A Rhetorical Perspective......Page 83 4 - From Standardised Procedure to Flexible Rhetoric......Page 110 5 - From Proximity to Argumentation......Page 134 6 - From Passive Agents to Active Rhetoricians......Page 160 7 - From a Physical to a Rhetorical Metaphor......Page 180 Conclusion......Page 212 Appendix - Transcription Conventions......Page 220 References......Page 221 Index......Page 240