Journal of Anthropology and Archaeology

Practicing Responsibility in Transnational Perspective
Dr. Sami al-Hasanat, Dr. Mansour Abed alzeez. Al-Shqiarat, Dr. Ikhlas Altarawneh

Abstract
Responsibility is a concept which is necessary for the functioning of law and society. In this paper it is assumed that people can and should take responsibility for their actions and that we can hold them accountable if they do not, therefore, the aim of this is to investigate this assumption. A theoretical review for the concept of ―responsibility‖ in thirteen languages across four language groups was undertaken, following up on some insights from this survey to make a brief discussion of history of the philosophy of moral responsibility in the west, narrowing in to focus on the late-twentieth century work of Peter Strawson. Then we apply Strawson's definition of responsibility and his theory of how the concept is practiced in human community to three concrete examples of transnational encounters which involve differing constructs of responsibility. Moreover, through interviews with the participants this paper investigates the socio-cultural institutions which shaped the participants' concept of responsibility. The main result of this paper is the existence of a universal sense of responsibility; however, people perceive "responsibility" differently based on the institutional frameworks which shape them and their communities.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jaa.v5n2a6