FOREWORD
FRENCH PHILOSOPHER PAUL RICOEUR introduced the concept of the “servile will” in The Symbolism of Evil, (1960).1 The servile will is the will that makes itself a slave to authority. It diminishes human nature. Such a mental state, although seemingly extreme, is more commonplace than we would like to believe. There is a sense of freedom in liberating oneself from a will that is enslaved.
From our earliest socialization, we are rewarded for obeying all authorities: parents, teachers, religious leaders, politicians, and more. Nowhere in our educational system, or even our social system of values, is there training in appropriate disobedience or simply to distinguish between obedience to just authority and defying unjust authority.
In our ...
Get Intelligent Disobedience now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
