Question

Under what conditions can human beings be held morally responsible for what they do? If our actions are determined by other influences, does that get us off the hook, or should we accept responsibility even in cases where we could not have done otherwise?

Answer 1

In my opinion, a certain degree of leniency should be taken into consideration while assigning complete personal responsibility to human beings for their behaviour. Every individual is born into an established physical and sociocultural context, which largely determines their moral beliefs and values. While evaluating an individual’s moral decisions, one must be highly sensitive towards these influences. I do not say that individuals are helpless under the impact of environmental factors, however, their role should not be negated.