From: Jake Sapiens (every1hz@earthlink.net)
Date: Mon Feb 09 2004 - 23:53:14 MST
I've been toying with this since you mentioned it. I think that
responsibility, as you seem to understand it is implicit within the three
virtues, Reason, Empathy, and Vision. Through empathy we become aware of
the social sense of accountability; the way we come to understand that some
individuals are more reliable than others, or the way that individuals may
be more reliable in some ways and less so in others. Through reason and
vision, we begin to see how we ourselves fit into this social universe, how
we would like to fit into it, and how we can develop a sense of
self-reliance - knowing that we can count on ourselves to follow through in
ways that are good for ourselves. I think perhaps what we are really
talking about here in this discussion is the fact that some people are
generally unreliable in just about any way one could hope for in a social
sense. Quite possibly they even view themselves as unreliable too. Here I
think the senseless sins kick in to remind us of the senselessness of
apathy.
I like the virtues (reason, empathy, vision) and sins (hypocrisy, apathy,
and dogmatism) because as concepts they are fairly straightforward. The
problem I see with responsibility is that it can easily be used in ways
that are crosswise, even though it does (and perhaps even because it does)
seem to indicate some fairly important characteristics that we value in a
social sense. We want others to think of us as responsible, and we quite
freely make judgements about the responsibility of others, even if we may
remain quiet about it. It's part and parcel of navigating the social
universe as well of living within it. The problem comes in that we also
tend to want to hold people responsible in unreasonable ways depending on
our own interest in the situation. Just because I like X, and I think X is
a good thing, doesn't mean that other people are responsible for X. For
example, if someone believes that abstinence from vices is a good thing,
then they would probably think I was pretty irresponsible. I, of course,
wouldn't really give a damn, which they of course would interpret as
irresponsible or even apathetic. If one thought were to think ethnic
purity is a moral good, then to that person Milosovich is a quite
responsible person. Of course we all think of responsibility is a good
thing, but just as often people who make a virtue out of it are simply
using it as club to beat people who disagree with them or otherwise don't
share their interests. I think of responsibility as good thing more in the
sense that I think of money as a good thing. Definitely a good thing, but
not necessarily a virtuous thing.
-Jake
> [Original Message]
> From: Erik Aronesty <erik@zoneedit.com>
> To: <virus@lucifer.com>
> Date: 02/09/2004 6:25:56 PM
> Subject: Re: virus: Responsibility
>
> Accountibility is something you hold others to.
>
> People often feel they are endowed with a special right to hold others
accountable.
>
>
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--- Jake Sapiens
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