responsibility

(rĭ-spŏn'sə-bĭl'ĭ-tē)
n., pl., -ties.

1. The state, quality, or fact of being responsible.
2. Something for which one is responsible; a duty, obligation, or burden.

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In object technology, a processing step that an object can perform.

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Obligation to perform. In the classical view, this obligation formally comes down from a superior position and is inherent in any job (it has its origins in the rights of private property as defined by the appropriate laws). In the behavioral view, responsibility must and should be delegated; a successive dividing and passing down of obligation occurs. The appropriate amount of authority or power must be delegated with the responsibility. However, a higher position can never rid itself of ultimate responsibility.

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noun

An act or course of action that is demanded of one, as by position, custom, law, or religion: burden¹, charge, commitment, duty, imperative, must, need, obligation. See obligation.

n

Definition: accountability, blame
Antonyms: exemption, freedom, immunity, irresponsibility

n

Definition: maturity, trustworthiness
Antonyms: distrust, immaturity, irresponsibility

n. 1. the obligation to carry forward an assigned task to a successful conclusion. With responsibility goes authority to direct and take the necessary action to ensure success.

2. the obligation for the proper custody, care, and safekeeping of property or funds entrusted to the possession or supervision of an individual. Compare with accountability.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Socially, peoples' responsibilities are those things for which they are accountable; failure to discharge a responsibility renders one liable to some censure or penalty. A job, or profession, or social role will be partly defined in terms of the responsibilities it involves. The extent of responsibility not just for oneself but for others is a central topic for political and ethical theory (‘Am I my brother's keeper?’). Understanding the nature of our causal responsibility for our own thoughts, natures, and actions is the main problem in any theory of action. See free will.

The obligation to answer for an act and to repair any injury caused by that act, 426 P. 2d 828, 835; the state of being answerable for an obligation, 316 S.W. 2d 662, 671; as used in statutes such as those governing awards of local public contracts to “responsible bidders,” the term refers to “the characteristic the absence of which would cause fairminded and reasonable men to believe it was not in the best interest of the municipality to award the contract to the lowest bidder,” 432 A. 2d 564, 566, and may involve experience, financial ability and adequate facilities. 149 A. 2d 228, 234.

In ordinary discourse some people are spoken of as 'not responsible' for acts or omissions, but there are several uses of the term 'responsible'. For example, not only people but things or events also are spoken of as 'responsible' for occurrences or non-occurrences, when all that is meant is that they had a part in the physical causation of them. Again, people are said to be 'responsible' for other people — such as their children — or for organizations, in the sense that they are morally or legally culpable if the latter misbehave. In the sense, however, with which we here are concerned, 'responsible' means 'to some extent culpable (either morally or in law, according to the context) for one's own acts or omissions'. The ascription of responsibility in this sense depends on what we believe to have been the person's mental state at or before the time of the act or omission. 'Premeditation' usually makes an objectionable act seem more culpable. If the actor foresaw a real possibility of his causing harm — for example, by his way of driving — his act or omission will be called 'reckless', and blamed accordingly. If he did not foresee it, but we think that he should have, he may be called 'negligent', and blamed accordingly — usually less than for 'recklessness'. The law, too, makes distinctions of this sort, although with more subtlety (for example, civil law takes into account 'contributory negligence' by the person harmed).

More often it is the actor's state of mind at the time of the act — or more precisely what it is believed to have been — that determines the degree to which he is regarded as blameworthy. If the act seems to have been quite accidental — if for instance he knocks over a child whom he did not see in his path — he is not blamed, unless we think that he should have been aware of this as a real possibility. Again, if his physical movements that did the harm were of a kind which are not willed, then he is not blamed: examples are the movements of a sleepwalker, or of a man who is sneezing. This excuse is called 'automatism' by English lawyers. Criminal courts usually demand medical evidence before accepting it, since it is usually based on abnormal cerebral conditions, such as an epileptic fit, or a hypoglycaemic state (which may occur in diabetics).

In certain situations, however, lawyers — and ordinary people — regard intentional actions as excused. Violence may be excused by the belief that one is about to be killed by the other person and that there is no alternative (such as escape). 'Necessity' is an excuse in the US Model Penal Code, although English judicial decisions are hostile to it. 'Duress' — acting under threats of death to oneself or one's family — is sometimes accepted. About 'superior orders' there is even more disagreement. An official executioner who carries out a lawful sentence of death is not legally culpable, but is morally condemned by many people for accepting the task. Carrying out an order which one knows to be unlawful usually incurs moral — and sometimes legal — blame, unless one does so in the knowledge that one would suffer death or a severe penalty for disobedience.

Even uncoerced intentional acts, however, may be excused, or at least mitigated, by other explanations. Provocation, if sufficient, is accepted by English law as lessening culpability rather than excusing the act completely, although courts are sometimes persuaded by it not to penalize the convicted person. Less transient mental states may also mitigate or even excuse. An example is an abnormal inability to control desires or impulses, especially if given a psychiatric label such as 'psychopathic'. Other mental states, such as depression, frequently persuade courts to forgo penalties, and, if a hospital or clinic is willing to accept the sufferer, to entrust him to psychiatric care and treatment. The extent to which such states protect the sufferer against moral censure varies with the circumstances and the viewpoint of the censurer. The English Homicide Act of 1957 (following Scots common law) allows a person charged with murder (but paradoxically not attempted murder) to offer a plea of 'diminished responsibility': if successful this reduces the crime to manslaughter, and allows the judge freedom to impose a less severe sentence than life imprisonment. (The Infanticide Act of 1938 allows a somewhat similar plea of 'disturbed balance of mind' to a mother who kills a baby to whom she has given birth within the previous twelve months.)

Some kinds and degrees of mental disorder are regarded as excusing offenders completely. English law recognizes an 'insanity defence'. To qualify, the offender must, at the time of his act or omission, have been suffering from a 'disease of the mind' (in more modern language 'mental disorder') such that he did not 'know the nature and quality' of the act, or alternatively know that it was 'wrong' (which is now interpreted in England as meaning 'against the law'). A third qualifying possibility is that he was suffering from a delusion which, if true, would have legally justified what he did: for example, a deluded belief that his life was threatened. In other common-law countries which have adopted and adapted this defence the exact definitions of the sufficient conditions vary, so that, for instance, 'wrong' can mean 'morally wrong'. In countries which follow the Code Napoléon the rule is simpler: no crime has been committed if the accused was suffering from démence at the time; but démence — or its equivalent — is defined very restrictively in practice. Most such countries also recognize 'partial insanity' or its equivalent as grounds for reducing the severity of the penalty; definitions of states which amount to this vary greatly.

Moral or political convictions are often regarded — especially by those who share them — as excusing behaviour which would normally be condemned, such as assassinations, violent demonstrations, or even genocide. Few legal codes allow for such a defence, although it has been proposed, for example by Moran (1981).

(Published 1987)

— Nigel D. Walker

Bibliography
• Hart, H. L. A. (1968). Punishment and Responsibility.
• — —  and Honoré, A. M. (eds.) (1985). Causation in the Law (2nd edn.).
• Homicide Act 1957 (UK), s. 2.
• Moran, R. (1981). Knowing Right From Wrong.
• Report of the Committee on Mentally Abnormal Offenders (1975, Cmnd. 6244), chs. 18, 19.
• Walker, N. D. (1984). 'Psychiatric explanations as excuses'. In Roth, M. (ed.), Psychiatry, Human Rights and the Law.

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(DOD) 1. The obligation to carry forward an assigned task to a successful conclusion. With responsibility goes authority to direct and take the necessary action to ensure success. 2. The obligation for the proper custody, care, and safekeeping of property or funds entrusted to the possession or supervision of an individual. See also accountability.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.

    Alas, things ain't what we should see
    If Eve had let that apple be;
    And many a feller which had ought
    To set with monarchses of thought,
    Or play some rosy little game
    With battle-chaps on fields of fame,
    Is downed by his unlucky star
    And hollers:  "Peanuts! -- here you are!"
                                                   "The Sturdy Beggar"

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IN BRIEF: n. - The social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force; A form of trustworthiness; The proper sphere or extent of your activities.

Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him. — Booker T. Washington

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Quotes:

"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." - Douglas Adams

"You must choose the thoughts and actions that will lead you on to success." - R. C. Allen

"To shun one's cross is to make it heavier." - Henri Frederic Amiel

"I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have ? life itself." - Walter Anderson

"Each of us has the right and the responsibility to asses the road which lie ahead and those over which we have traveled, and if the feature road looms ominous or unpromising, and the road back uninviting-inviting, then we need to gather our resolve and carrying only the necessary baggage, step off that road into another direction. If the new choice is also unpalatable, without embarrassment, we must be ready to change that one as well." - Maya Angelou

"No one will dare maintain that it is better to do injustice than to bear it." - Aristotle

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Common misspelling(s) of responsibility

• responnsibilty

Dansk (Danish)
n. - ansvar, ansvarlighed, forpligtelse

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    utilregnelighed
• on one's own responsibility    på eget ansvar
• responsibility to    ansvar over for
• responsibility towards    ansvar over for

Nederlands (Dutch)
verantwoordelijk- heid, aansprakelijkheid, betrouwbaarheid verminderde toerekenings- vatbaarheid op iemands eigen verantwoordelijk- heid

Français (French)
n. - responsabilité

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    responsabilité atténuée
• on one's own responsibility    sous sa propre responsabilité
• responsibility to    responsabilité envers
• responsibility towards    responsabilité envers

Deutsch (German)
n. - Verantwortung, Verpflichtung

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    verminderte Zurechnungsfähigkeit
• on one's own responsibility    auf eigene Verantwortung
• responsibility to    Verantwortung für
• responsibility towards    Verantwortung für

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ευθύνη, υπευθυνότητα

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    (νομ.) μειωμένη ευθύνη
• on one's own responsibility    με αποκλειστική μου ευθύνη
• responsibility to    ευθύνη έναντι
• responsibility towards    ευθύνη έναντι

Italiano (Italian)
responsabilitý

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    responsabilità ridotta
• on one's own responsibility    sotto la propria responsabilitý
• responsibility to/towards    responsabilitý verso

Português (Portuguese)
n. - responsabilidade (f)

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    pouca responsabilidade
• on one's own responsibility    por sua conta e risco (coloq.)
• responsibility to/towards    responsabilidade por

Русский (Russian)
ответственность, обязанность

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    ограниченная ответственность
• on one's own responsibility    на свой страх и риск
• responsibility to/towards    ответственность перед

Español (Spanish)
n. - responsabilidad, seriedad, formalidad

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    responsabilidad atenuada
• on one's own responsibility    bajo su propia responsabilidad
• responsibility to    responsabilidad ante
• responsibility towards    responsabilidad ante

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ansvar

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
责任, 负担, 职责

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    减轻的责任
• on one's own responsibility    自行负责, 自作主张
• responsibility to    对...负责
• responsibility towards    对...的责任

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 責任, 負擔, 職責

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    減輕的責任
• on one's own responsibility    自行負責, 自作主張
• responsibility to    對...負責
• responsibility towards    對...的責任

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 책임, 책임이 되는 것, 신뢰성

idioms:

• responsibility to    의무

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 責任, 責務, 義務

idioms:

• diminished responsibility    限定責任能力
• responsibility to/towards    対する責任

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مسؤوليه على مسؤوليته الخاصه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אחריות, תחום האחריות‬

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