When are we not responsible for our own beliefs and behavior?

[gmearns]

When addressing when we are not responsible for our own beliefs and behaviors, we can all agree that legally we are always responsible for own actions, but that is not what can be debated. It's whether we are morally responsible for our own beliefs and behaviors. In my opinion, there our times when we not responsible and that usually stems from socioeconomic or racial reasons. If some grows up in poverty and they are starving, I would say that though it is illegal if someone steals food to feed themselves and their family, I can justify why they did it for moral reasons. But on the contrary just because something is legal doesn't always make it morally right you to do. If a woman believes that life begins at conception, though the law tells her that she can legally get an abortion in her first trimester doesn't mean that morally she won't be held responsible by her certain belief system.    

[kandahar]

I completely agree with what you have said. I have to say that we aren't responsible for our beliefs and behaviors when we know nothing but what we have been taught. Say that I have been hypothetically raised in a racist environment where I have learned nothing about the people or culture that I am racist against. I can't help that because I don't know better than that. The reason that I am racist is not my fault. It's the fault of the teacher that taught me how bad said group is. It is possible to change beliefs though; It's just really hard. This is the problem, I think, with Perry and Dick as they were thrown into prison with other criminals who just amplified what they already believed and weren't corrected on their wrongs. 

(I didn't know which section to post this in as there were two Essential Question 2s)

[haynay129]

Also, you can see examples of this in the experiment Jane Elliot, a kindergarten teacher, did in the seventy's with her students about brow eyed children being better than blue eyed children and vice versa, and observing the immediate changes in the children's attitudes and behaviors toward each other to prove impressionability and original prejudiced in children.

(you can read about the experiment here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Elliott)

[haynay129]

Also, you can see examples of this in the experiment Jane Elliot, a kindergarten teacher, did in the seventy's with her students about brow eyed children being better than blue eyed children and vice versa, and observing the immediate changes in the children's attitudes and behaviors toward each other to prove impressionability and original prejudiced in children.

(you can read about the experiment here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Elliott)

[matthewgray]

I agree with the statement that we are held responsible for our beliefs, at least in our own minds, but I do not agree with the idea that just because we were taught something is okay we get a free pass on responsibility. This is because no matter what you believe in, the one basic level that all humans can connect on is empathy, meaning we put ourselves in the other persons' shoes and think about how we would feel in their situation. For example, I personally would not like to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin, and I think most people can understand this, so I do not feel that racism, or any harmful belief, if justified solely because the person didn't know it was wrong.

[annacarter]

I agree with what Matt said above. Being raised in an environment that condones certain behaviors does not necessarily mean that those behaviors are morally right. The older we become the more control we have over our environments, and the more freedom we have to adjust, relearn, and change our behaviors. We are responsible for understanding when our behaviors, thoughts, or actions are wrong, and making strides to change those things to become better people. Being taught something in childhood does not mean it's okay to mindlessly repeat this behavior without questioning or reflecting on the ethics and morality of it.

[kandahar]

I didn't mean that we get a free pass because we are ignorant creatures, but that we are ignorant creatures and need to know both sides before we can fully begin to know what is moral or not. That is why I stated that we can change our beliefs if put into the correct environment to condemn those ideas and build up the moral ones. (ie. stealing is bad and being place in prison where everyone has stolen might reinforce the idea that stealing isn't all to bad or vise-versa due to the fact that so many thieves have been caught)

[16carnohanc]

We are not in charge of our own beliefs and behaviors when those around us opinions overthrow our own. Personally I believe we Keats have a right to do what we think is the correct thing to do. While parents and peers may have a large influence on us I do not believe their opinions control ours. Many may just agree with those around them for the easier way out however when we are around those with the same belief the two behaviors and beliefs may combine or be alterd by one another.

[benemery]

Matt and Anna, Ray Rice is a great example of what you were talking about. His parents raised him abusively. Does that make it okay for him to abuse his wife? Of course not. Anyway, as for my take,on this question, we are always responsible for our actions, particularly in the legal sense as Geoff mentioned. But, I believe the degree of responsibility should vary situationally. A person who steals to fund a drug addiction should be held more responsible for his/her crime than a person who steals out of necessity, to feed a family. In summary, there isn't really ever a time where we aren't responsible for our own actions (besides being REALLY young). But, the degree of responsibility we must take depends on the situation.