The burden of responsibility, and how people respond to it

To me, one of the most central foundations of society is the keeping of one's word [Psalm 15:4]; our social ability to arrange activities involving more than one person, to mutual benefit, depends on the idea that people can arrange a joint plan, and then each follow their part of that plan... a simple example is that of someone inviting friends round for dinner: they arrange that they will meet at a particular place and (approximate) time, and that the one hosting the dinner will provide food. (This example is used by Jesus -- in particular, as a model of something which it is antisocial to break, in [Luke 14:16-24].)

Obviously, it is possible that someone will say that they will do something, and then, when it comes to doing it, will find it is inconvenient (to their disadvantage) to do what they have said. What someone does in this circumstance is, to me, an important reflection on their character.

Some people resent being expected to do something that they have said that they will do, and some resent implicit expectations too. (In fact, many people seem to resent anything other than being allowed to do exactly what they feel like at the time, and are angry whenever things don't go exactly their way.)

``Values'' is a new area of my web pages; some of these pages are simply stubs to mark what should subsequently appear there.

John C. G. Sturdy

Last modified: Sun Jun 10 21:39:56 GMT Daylight Time 2007