When are we not resposible for our beliefs and behaviors?

[Kamryn Balson]

I personally believe the only time we are not responsible for our own beliefs and behaviors is when we were younger or a medical reason impacts an individual. When we were children we looked up and admired our parents or guardians so we mimicked every behavioral action we saw them do which is why we cannot be responsible for our behavior at that stage. We were only following what our guardians did so by always watching, and not being able to necessarily think on our own at that stage, we became more similar to our parents. At a young age we do not have the capability to know what's right and wrong so our behaviors then weren't really us. We didn't know what proper behavior truly was especially if we didn't have the best environment to grow up in. We cannot be responsible for the behavioral mistakes we made as children because we were still in a learning what exactly proper behavior looked like. Our beliefs as children were also chosen because of our guardians and what they believed. As children we could not defend our reasoning for believing something different because we were too young and wouldn't have the capacity to know exactly what we thought. Individuals are the most indecisive at a young age (about everything!) so there was no way our beliefs could be our responsibilities then. 

Individuals also cannot be responsible for their behaviors and beliefs when they are medical impaired. Being medically disabled causes difficulty when making decisions, which effects choosing a belief, and it causes difficulty with learning, like new behaviors, because the brain cannot pull in that information. The handicapped cannot be made responsible for their actions if they dont know right from wrong just like a child wouldn't be made responsible. They want to learn proper behavior and they can only do that through the help of guidance. However when the handicapped does learn right from wrong, but they make a bad decision in someone else eyes are they the ones that should be scolded, or is their mentor the one that should be scolded since they learn from their leaders actions? In In Cold Blood the killers aren't young or medically unstable, that we know of, which makes them 100% responsible for murdering the Clutter family.

[Lauren O.]

Oct 23, 2014 23:50:16 GMT Kamryn Balson said:

 In In Cold Blood the killers aren't young or medically unstable, that we know of, which makes them 100% responsible for murdering the Clutter family.

I, to a certain extent, agree with this statement Kamryn. However, the killers had to have had some form of instability to have done this horrendous crime. For example, both killers were in gruesome accidents ( Dick was in a car wreck and Perry was in a motorcycle accident) which not only left them physically maimed, but also mentally traumatized.This could possibly lead to P.T.S.D. or many other mental problems relating to their accidents. Perry also had a very superstitious belief which, if even loosely, can be connected to a multitude of mental diseases and disorders. Also, Perry was a drug addict (he was addicted to aspirin) and drug addiction completely destroys the way your brain works. Furthermore, when you look at the killers' backgrounds you can see they had difficult childhoods. These rough upbringings are breeding grounds for instability of the mind. With all this background of the killers, there is a very small chance that these men had perfect, stable, mental health while committing these crimes.
    But back to my original statement I do agree with you, Kamryn. These men knew what they were doing when they murdered the Clutter family and are responsible for their deaths. What I would not say is that they were in complete mental health while completing these crimes.

[joedressman1]

    I have to disagree with this statement because while the murderers are not young or medically unstable, they were horribly developed in their childhood stages. The killers are never able to learn right from wrong because while they are in their childhood stages, they have no responsible mentor to teach them. Also, Perry had two siblings who committed suicide which could very easily cause mental instability. While the killers are responsible for their actions, they have some serious psychological problems.