Responsibility.

Something I have been pondering about - for a long time. I'm still not 100% sure about it. I hope someone will prove me wrong. Recent topics on ths board have made me think about it more now, previously I rejected these idea's, I did not like them. But, now that I think about it more... I cant help but see the logic and truth in it. (Still, all my opinions, its fine with me if you reject it) I know you're all inclined to think that everyone is responsible for their own actions, and I thought so too, but set that aside for the moment and think about this without without any bias from previous opinions for a moment and think with me here.

What makes up a person, a personality? From an infant to an adult, what makes him/her do what he does. His/her experiences, right? (im lazy so i'll keep it on a "he" for now) All the things he has learned, what he has done, how he has been treated. They all influenced him, and his idea's, beliefs, etc. I think all these experiences decide how a person turns out and influence his decisions. Boldy saying, if the person had different experiences, his choices would have been different.

So... making a bad decision. The person is to blame, but if he had different experiences, would he still decide the same thing? Is he responsible or could'nt he help it because of his past? So ultimately, could he still be blamed? He is a product of his enviroment and experiences.

What alternatives are there?
Genes? Our behavior is embedded in our genetic profile? How responsible are you then, when you are pre-programmed to behave that way because of your genes? (Genes, looks, abilities also play a role in collecting the experiences so indirectly they relate to what I was saying above).
God? He decided how we where going to act? How responsible are you when God decides what you are going to do? Or does he decide which trials you are going to face in life and then make you decide what is best... But how would you?
Randomly? Or ... because what seems best to you, and that best is decided from all the things you've learned? Your past experiences.

I'm still not totally done thinking about this. Discuss.

Life is a learning process, so the experiences we learn from make up our personalities. I think that the choices we make are based on more than just our personalities. I'm an introvert but I may still choose to hang out with strangers once in a while. There are so many things that affect us; things from the past, present circumstances, and the realization of what the good or bad consequences will be in the future. Our personalities are only one form of influence.

It's an interesting topic and I'll have to think more on it as well.

-Amé

Well basically you develop your decision making skills based on what other people think is right. You find lots of point of views and combine them into what your point of view is. At that point it is kinda your fault for the decisions. Although, I think that if the people who were a role model for the kid were very different, the kid's decision making skills would be different.

I know I'm not helping finding a solution to the problem, but I'm introducing another one.

I agree with CT about the importance of genetics. That being so, are some people inherently evil? What if we're really not responsible for doing wrong simply b/c we have this 'evil gene' inside us?

CT made the argument that we could technically not be held responsible for a bad action b/c we haven't had the experience to know otherwise. Well, maybe a similar argument could be made about doing bad actions b/c we have this genetic deformity of an evil gene.

If you aren't responsible for your own actions, be they good/bad, doesn't that mean that you aren't in control?

It seems like we're talking about blame, or culpability, more than responsibility here. Blame is an after-the-fact response, and IMO is way overemphasized in our present culture, especiallly the penal system. Responsibily, though, is something you carry into a situation, before you make the decisions. It's an approach and an attitude, not a judgement made in hindsight. When you concentrate on blame and consider only whether others can blame you for your actions, it seems to me you've already abandoned responsibility. Relating this to CTs post, I'd say a responsible attitude allows you to choose which experiences apply to a given situation, then act for the best possible outcome, for everyone. You won't always make the best decision, if there's such a thing, but you'll make more good ones.

What CT posted is quite reminiscent of the Determinism idea, that every event in the universe has been set out since the big bang. Every atom and molecule has collided together to form galaxies and solar systems and planets... up until now, where it has formed your brain. Your brain is a collection of atoms, and like everything else, it is a slave to the laws of physics.

Even though this is true, and quite scary, I think that the human sentient mind is special because it is capable of controlling itself. It can look at itself, so to speak. This seperates us from all other (known) beings. That's what makes us special. We have the power to choose.

But Im not sure either! Its scary when you think about this too much. :wink:

CT, if perspective and social influence are really as extreme as you say it to be then you wouldn't have bad decisions and the reprecussions that come with it. The reason is that if people grow up in a society that influences them a certain way, and if their choices are influenced by those social standards, then there would be no 'bad' choices because society would agree with what they did. And if you're wondering yes that's Sandel's communitarism theory.

Personally I think it's hogwash, which means that I believe that people are independent from society and make their own choices based on their own personal desires. If I want to steal that plasma TV then heck I can do it, even if society has taught me otherwise. You can see this in normal people who go crazy when there's a blackout and everyone goes window shopping.

I believe CT's main point is called subjectivism, and you can guess why.

I think it is a very important factor in everyday life, and occurs so often. However I do not think it could be used as a reason not to prosecute. Imagine someone saying 'I did it because the rest of the world taught me to'. The idea of punishing people for bad deeds is still credible when applied to someone saying this. Creating a society in which crime is looked down upon, and punished, attempts to tell people that crime is bad and gives them reason to reject anyone saying otherwise. Warnings not to steal/injure/whatev are offered fairly to everyone.

Next comes the issue of the person being conditioned not to heed such warnings. Well, the judicial system is then designed to hammer out this kind of thing happening.
I guess...