Arguing, obeying and defying : a rhetorical perspective on Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments / Stephen Gibson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gibson, Stephen, 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Milgram, Stanley.

Obedience.

Social psychology.

Rhetorical criticism.

Physical Description:

x, 232 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Summary:

"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"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. The obedience experiments; 3. Re-evaluating Milgram; 4. A rhetorical perspective; 5. From standardised procedure to flexible rhetoric; 6. From proximity to argumentation; 7. From passive agents to active rhetoricians; 8. From a physical to a rhetorical metaphor; 9. Conclusion.

ISBN:

9781108421331

1108421334

9781108431811

110843181X

OCLC:

1047820149