On the topic of responsibility

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the notion of “responsibility”.

Design/methodology/approach

Discussing the notion of “responsibility” according to two main philosophers (Paul Ricoeur and Hans Jonas) and its legal conception.

Findings

In philosophy, the issue of responsibility appears as a second‐level question, thus pointing up the first‐level ones (e.g. action, liberty, causality, autonomy). As such, responsibility necessarily reduces the philosophical field, otherwise the issue becomes unmanageable – if the issue ever was manageable! The concept of responsibility is both recent and fuzzy. The most commonly associated word is obligation. The notion of responsibility raises the problem of its conditions of possibility with the issue of imputation and the binary: imputation and sanction. Self‐referentiality and the circumstances surrounding calculation (of sanctions) are key aspects.

Research limitations/implications

The question arises: What is hidden behind the notion?

Practical implications

Beware of the performative aspects linked to the notion of “responsibility”.

Social implications

The current meaning of responsibility is embedded in today's political ideology (the “liberal moment”).

Originality/value

The paper takes into account the philosophical background of a notion currently used in management.

Citation

Pesqueux, Y. (2012), "On the topic of responsibility", Journal of Global Responsibility, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 19-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/20412561211219265