From ufadaameh@yahoo.com Thu Jun 6 08:03:05 2002 Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2002 03:33:44 -0700 (PDT) From: ameh ejeh To: Kieth Douglas Cc: Peter Madsen Subject: Responsibility... RESPONSIBILITY The word "responsibility" can be broken into two ---"response" and "ability". Responsibility, -response-ability- is the ability to respond in a positive manner by being answerable, accountable, living up to our obligation or the trust reposed on us. From the purely ethical perspective then, responsibility is the "ability" to answer for ones conduct and obligations and the ability to make a choice between right and wrong. What we must watch against is not to look at responsiblity as a negative thing. Responsibility is not a burden, or a fault or a blame or shame or guilt. Responsibility is a positive attitude which begins with the willingness to experience ones self as a "cause", and in ones role to make decisions or act in a positive manner. RESPONSIBILITY IN THE VCR FRAMEWORK In relation to our VCR ethical framework, responsibility goes hand in hand with rights. The claim of a right by one party puts a responsibility of obligation on another party for that right to be ensured. As Robert Mertzman and Peter Madsen put it in their book "Ethical Issues in Professional Life", the claim of one person to the right to breath clean air puts a responsibility on manfacturers to ensure that the air is not contaminated. For a good analysis of the relationship between "rights and responsibility" I refer you to Mertzman and Madsen, pp. 8-10. The importance of responsibility in ethical decisions cannot be over emphasised. For many ethicists, to make a proper ethical judgement, the issues of duty, obligation and responsibility must be put into consideration. This approached, called "deontology" (from the GK. "deont" ---that which is binding)had as ones of its greaetest proponents, a philosopher called Immanueal Kant (1724-1804) APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF RESPONSIBILITY The concept of responsiblity is essential in many areas of life, both private and personal life as well as public and professional life. In the private and personal life, every person who has attained the age of reason is supposed to be responsibility for his decisions, choices and actions. In otherwords, he is accountable or answerable. This responsibility maybe born by the individual alone or maybe shared by some other persons who play a part in such a decision, choice or action. For a good example of personal and/or shared responsibility refer to these: www.geocities.com/apokrinomai/ articles/responsibility.htm www.onlineathens.com/stories/ 062101/opi_0621010015.shtml In the public and professional life, responsibility is even more crucial becasue here, you are not simply dealing with yourself alone, a whole lot of other people, the public, is invovled. And so, whatever decisions or choices you make or actions you take affect not just yourself but all these other people who maybe involved. This explains why responsiblity is taught to us as early as childhood days and this is continued into our school years and carried on into adult life in the society. For justice and peace to reign in the society and to maintain order, both indivuduals and groups have to be responsible. In the professional life the situation is uniquily varied and complex. Professionals are involved with their discipline, collegues, students, sponsors, subjects, people of their own, the government, individuals or groups with whom they do their field work, interest groups and other unidentified members of the public. All these groups and indivduals must be born in mind as professionals try to carry out their responsibility to each of these. The Amercan Council of Professional Anthropologist put out a "Statement of Ethics" dealing with these areas of professionas responsibility. This material can be found in: http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/ethstmnt.htm The National Federation of Paralegal Associations Inc. also put out a "Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Guidelines for Enforcement" in which they give a detailed explanation of the various aspects of professional responsiblity and how these can be met. To access this material go to: http://www.paralegals.org/Development/modelcode.html SELF-STUDY POINTS AND QUESTIONS 1a) Is "responsibility" an out-dated concept? From the examples of ethical issues that you have studies in this course, point out some of the areas that speak to this question. 1b)Identify some of the ethical issues in personl as well as professional life where you would like to see individual and groups to be more responsible. 2) How do you relate personally to the concept of responsibility? Do you see it as a burden, or treat, or limitation on your freedom, or do you see it as a necessary obligation? 3)From your understanding of the reading material "Yarbrough: What happened to the Concept of Responsibility for ones's Actions?", Would you say that responsiblity for cigarete-related illnessed are i)the smoker's ii) the tobacco companies, iii) or both smokers and tobacco companies? Give arguments in support of your position. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com