Moral responsibility

In philosophy, moral responsibility is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission in accordance with one's moral obligations.^[1]^[2] Deciding what (if anything) counts as "morally obligatory" is a principal concern of ethics.

Philosophers refer to people who have moral responsibility for an action as "moral agents". Agents have the capability to reflect upon their situation, to form intentions about how they will act, and then to carry out that action. The notion of free will has become an important issue in the debate on whether individuals are ever morally responsible for their actions and, if so, in what sense. Incompatibilists regard determinism as at odds with free will, whereas compatibilists think the two can coexist.

Moral responsibility does not necessarily equate to legal responsibility. A person is legally responsible for an event when a legal system is liable to penalise that person for that event. Although it may often be the case that when a person is morally responsible for an act, they are also legally responsible for it, the two states do not always coincide.^[3]

Preferential promoters of the concept of personal responsibility (or some popularization thereof) may include (for example) parents,^[4] managers,^[5] politicians,^[6] technocrats,^[7] large-group awareness trainings (LGATs),^[8] and religious groups.^[9]

Some see individual responsibility as an important component of neoliberalism.^[10]

^ Klein, Martha (2005). "responsibility". In Honderich, Ted (ed.). Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199264797.001.0001. ISBN 978-0199264797. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2014-02-03. The term 'moral responsibility' covers (i) the having of a moral obligation and (ii) the fulfilment of the criteria for deserving blame or praise (punishment or reward) for a morally significant act or omission.
^ Eshleman, Andrew (2009). "moral responsibility". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Archived from the original on 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2005-12-12. Many have held that one distinct feature of persons is their status [emphasis added] as morally responsible agents
^ Cane, Peter (2002). "Moral and Legal Responsibility". Responsibility in Law and Morality (reprint ed.). Oxford: Hart Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978-1841133218. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023. 'Liability' comes much more readily to the legal mind than 'responsibility'. But the two terms are certainly not synonymous. [...] 'responsibility' is used much more commonly outside the law than in legal discourse to express ideas that underlie both it and 'liability'.
^ West, Anne; Lewis, Jane (2017). "Parents and co-resident graduates: financial arrangements, responsibility and independence". Helicopter Parenting and Boomerang Children: How Parents Support and Relate to Their Student and Co-Resident Graduate Children. Routledge Advances in Sociology. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1134799145. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] parents sought to inculcate responsibility by making co-residence contingent on their adult child making regular payments to them or requiring them to save money for the future.
^ Coles, D.; Bailey, G.; Calvert, R. E. (2012) [1964]. "The Role of Industry in Society". Introduction to Building Management (6th ed.). London: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-1135137939. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] the manager must inculcate in his workers a sense of their own responsibilities, for effective results require the combined efforts of capital and labour.
^ Eyal, Gil; Szelényi, Iván; Townsley, Eleanor R. (2000) [1998]. "The Ideology of the Post-Communist Power Elite". Making Capitalism Without Capitalists: The New Ruling Elites in Eastern Europe. London: Verso. p. 106. ISBN 978-1859843123. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] in the name of inculcating responsibility, the most bizarre measures have been taken. The reform of the dental system in Hungary, for example, has eliminated all free dental care except extractions. Now patients are faced with the choice of being responsible or becoming toothless. This is the post-communist version of preventive care – to prevent irresponsibility rather than cavities.
^ Eyal, Gil; Szelényi, Iván; Townsley, Eleanor R. (2000) [1998]. "The Ideology of the Post-Communist Power Elite". Making Capitalism Without Capitalists: The New Ruling Elites in Eastern Europe. London: Verso. p. 106. ISBN 978-1859843123. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] the technocracy sees its task in educational-pastoral terms: it has to instruct, supervise and monitor individuals; it has to instill the requisite initiative in agents who are not entrepreneurial enough; it has to inculcate self-discipline and responsibility in subjects [...]
^ Wildflower, Wildflower (2011). "The Self-Help and Human Potential Movements". In Wildflower, Leni; Brennan, Diane (eds.). The Handbook of Knowledge-Based Coaching: From Theory to Practice. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. p. 197. ISBN 978-1118033388. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] what is crucial to this transformation is to take responsibility for one's life.
^ Roberts, Tyler (2004). "Sacrifice and Secularization: Derrida, de Vries, and the Future of Mourning". In Sherwood, Yvonne; Hart, Kevin (eds.). Derrida and Religion: Other Testaments. New York: Routledge. p. 275. ISBN 978-1135924294. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] a single leitmotif – unlimited, infinite or absolute responsibility – is unfolded only to be folded in again, in varying ways depending on the context, the specific occasion of an interrogation, or the urgency of a certain clarification.
^ Springer, Simon; Birch, Kean; MacLeavy, Julie (2016). "An introduction to neoliberalism". In Springer, Simon; Birch, Kean; MacLeavy, Julie (eds.). Handbook of Neoliberalism. Routledge international handbooks. New York: Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-1317549666. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2023. [...] when we make reference to 'neoliberalism', we are generally referring to the new political, economic and social arrangements within society that emphasize market relations, re-tasking the role of the state, and individual responsibility.

[1] Klein, Martha (2005). "responsibility". In Honderich, Ted (ed.). Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199264797.001.0001. ISBN 978-0199264797. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2014-02-03. The term 'moral responsibility' covers (i) the having of a moral obligation and (ii) the fulfilment of the criteria for deserving blame or praise (punishment or reward) for a morally significant act or omission.

[2] Eshleman, Andrew (2009). "moral responsibility". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Archived from the original on 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2005-12-12. Many have held that one distinct feature of persons is their status [emphasis added] as morally responsible agents

[3] Cane, Peter (2002). "Moral and Legal Responsibility". Responsibility in Law and Morality (reprint ed.). Oxford: Hart Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978-1841133218. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023. 'Liability' comes much more readily to the legal mind than 'responsibility'. But the two terms are certainly not synonymous. [...] 'responsibility' is used much more commonly outside the law than in legal discourse to express ideas that underlie both it and 'liability'.

[4] West, Anne; Lewis, Jane (2017). "Parents and co-resident graduates: financial arrangements, responsibility and independence". Helicopter Parenting and Boomerang Children: How Parents Support and Relate to Their Student and Co-Resident Graduate Children. Routledge Advances in Sociology. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1134799145. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] parents sought to inculcate responsibility by making co-residence contingent on their adult child making regular payments to them or requiring them to save money for the future.

[5] Coles, D.; Bailey, G.; Calvert, R. E. (2012) [1964]. "The Role of Industry in Society". Introduction to Building Management (6th ed.). London: Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-1135137939. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] the manager must inculcate in his workers a sense of their own responsibilities, for effective results require the combined efforts of capital and labour.

[6] Eyal, Gil; Szelényi, Iván; Townsley, Eleanor R. (2000) [1998]. "The Ideology of the Post-Communist Power Elite". Making Capitalism Without Capitalists: The New Ruling Elites in Eastern Europe. London: Verso. p. 106. ISBN 978-1859843123. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] in the name of inculcating responsibility, the most bizarre measures have been taken. The reform of the dental system in Hungary, for example, has eliminated all free dental care except extractions. Now patients are faced with the choice of being responsible or becoming toothless. This is the post-communist version of preventive care – to prevent irresponsibility rather than cavities.

[7] Eyal, Gil; Szelényi, Iván; Townsley, Eleanor R. (2000) [1998]. "The Ideology of the Post-Communist Power Elite". Making Capitalism Without Capitalists: The New Ruling Elites in Eastern Europe. London: Verso. p. 106. ISBN 978-1859843123. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] the technocracy sees its task in educational-pastoral terms: it has to instruct, supervise and monitor individuals; it has to instill the requisite initiative in agents who are not entrepreneurial enough; it has to inculcate self-discipline and responsibility in subjects [...]

[8] Wildflower, Wildflower (2011). "The Self-Help and Human Potential Movements". In Wildflower, Leni; Brennan, Diane (eds.). The Handbook of Knowledge-Based Coaching: From Theory to Practice. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. p. 197. ISBN 978-1118033388. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] what is crucial to this transformation is to take responsibility for one's life.

[9] Roberts, Tyler (2004). "Sacrifice and Secularization: Derrida, de Vries, and the Future of Mourning". In Sherwood, Yvonne; Hart, Kevin (eds.). Derrida and Religion: Other Testaments. New York: Routledge. p. 275. ISBN 978-1135924294. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023. [...] a single leitmotif – unlimited, infinite or absolute responsibility – is unfolded only to be folded in again, in varying ways depending on the context, the specific occasion of an interrogation, or the urgency of a certain clarification.

[10] Springer, Simon; Birch, Kean; MacLeavy, Julie (2016). "An introduction to neoliberalism". In Springer, Simon; Birch, Kean; MacLeavy, Julie (eds.). Handbook of Neoliberalism. Routledge international handbooks. New York: Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-1317549666. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2023. [...] when we make reference to 'neoliberalism', we are generally referring to the new political, economic and social arrangements within society that emphasize market relations, re-tasking the role of the state, and individual responsibility.

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