Responsibility

Abstract

DEFINITION OF THE TERM: It is a difficult task to define the term “responsibility”. It can be understood as a moral value or as a legal principle, and both concepts can result in different understandings of the term. The issue of responsibility is topical in relation to contemporary civilizational problems. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TERM: The article discusses the historical and cultural context in which moral responsibility became an ethical concept of primary importance. It is argued that rejecting or not taking moral responsibility has harmful social consequences. DISCUSSION OF THE TERM: The issue of responsibility is discussed from axiological, legal, and moral perspectives. Various ways of understanding this term are presented that are based on the concepts of Polish and German philosophers who have studied the ethics of responsibility. SYSTEMATIC REFLECTION WITH CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The article discusses the links between philosophical reflections on responsibility and Catholic Social Teaching, including the teachings of Benedict XVI and Francis I. These papal teachings address the following contemporary philosophical concepts of responsibility: 1) the sources of moral responsibility; 2) the difference between legal and moral responsibility; 3) the historical and civilizational challenges that have led to changes in understandings of the concept of responsibility. Pope Benedict XVI’s logic of gift and Francis I’s integral ecology are both extensions of the philosophical concept of responsibility.