Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government Essay

Separation of Powers between the Three Branches of Government - Essay Example It was, however, Charles Louis de Montesquieu who clearly defined the three branches of government and laid down the basics of the concept of separation of powers. Some countries being underpinned by the concept of separation of powers, like the United States, have written constitutions that clearly laid out and allocated the various powers and functions of the government to the different branches (Barnett pp. 105-106). This is not so in the United Kingdom. The UK Constitution does not consist of a single, written document but rather of various uncodified laws scattered in several documents like statutes, court decisions and treaties and unwritten ones like customs and conventions. A strict separation of powers normally divides separate powers and functions and allows them to the three branches government: the executive; Parliament, and; the judiciary. In the UK, the components of the three branches of governments usually share powers held by other branches in a mixed government fash ion. Eric Barendt, however, author of the book Separation of Powers does not believe that the UK necessarily has a weaker constitution because of this disparity. He believes that â€Å"the separation of powers should not be explained in terms of a strict distribution of functions between the three branches of government, but in terms of a network of rules and principles which ensure that power is not concentrated in the hands of one branch.† The UK government, like other democratic governments, has three major institutions, all exercising various functions and powers and sometimes sharing the powers of the other branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The executive department is made up the Crown and the central government, the latter of which is composed of the Prime Minister and his/her Cabinet Ministers. The central government is accountable to Parliament, which can choose to dissolve it and force a new election of a new set of officials if it believes that circumstances warrant it.  

Politics and Other Social Sciences Essay Example for Free

Politics and Other Social Sciences Essay Man is a social animal. His social life has many dimensions – political, economic, sociological, psychological, historical etc. Social sciences deal with this multi-dimensional man, his collective life, social behaviour, organisations and activities. All of these dimensions of man are inter-connected leading to interrelationship among various social sciences. Political science, being one of the social sciences dealing with the political aspect of social man, has close connections with other social sciences. The modem approach in the study of social sciences is primarily interdisciplinary. It means that scholars of one specialized social science should work in coordination with scholars of other disciplines. This has resulted in a great deal of overlapping of disciplines. Interdisciplinary study has resulted in a rapid development of theoretical and applied aspects of politics and the sharpening of tools of research and analysis in the present century. Political Science and History Political Science and History are very closely connected. Jellinek remarked: It is almost a common-place today to affirm the necessity of historical study as a basis for a proper understanding of institutions, whether they be political, legal, or social.1 E.H. Carr holds that the dual function of history (is) to enable man to understand the society of the past and to increase his mastery over the society of the present} The cause and effect relationship of social phenomena can be understood by scientific understanding of history. History furnishes the political scientist the raw materials for comparison and induction. The relation of political science and history is well brought out in words of Seeley: History without Political Science has no fruit. Political Science without history has no root. In the words of Freeman, history is past politics and politics is present history. While political science is dependent on history for its material, it must be made clear that history supplies only part of its material. Again, all facts of history are not useful to political science. Garner rightly points out that not all of history is past politics. Much of it – like the history of art, of science, of inventions, discoveries, military campaigns, language, customs, dress, industries, religious controversies – has little, if any, relation to politics and affords no material for political investigation. Political Science selects relevant facts out of history. All political institutions are products of history. Without historical foundations, political science becomes merely speculative and abstract. History is a vast storehouse of facts and information from which political science draw its relevant materials for generalizations. Lipson writes: with its chronological treatment, history offers to the student of politics a sense of growth and development and thus affords insight into the process of social change. Political science has influence on history. Political ideas of thought leaders have contributed in shaping human history. Political revolutions and political concepts like democracy, liberty, equality and political ideologies like liberalism, nationalism and socialism have substantially influenced the history of societies. Garner aptly observes: to interpret history in its true significance we must study that politically. Behaviouralism with its stress on empirical method has undermined the importance of historical method in recent political studies. Traditional method relied more on history as it believed that history can assist in understanding the present and act as a guide for the future. Political Science and Economics Political Science and economics are very closely related and cover a common ground to a large extent. Early writers on economics considered their subject as a branch of political science and termed it ‘political economy’. Politics influences substantially the economic system. The state formulates the economic policies and regulates the economy. Production and distribution of wealth, price control, trade, taxation, government ownership of public utilities, banking, export-import and such other economic activities are regulated by political decision-making. The solution of many economic problems must come through political channels. Indeed many of the complex problems of the modern state are essentially economic in character: the reduction of economic disparity, removal of poverty and unemployment, the adjustment of the claims of capital and labour, nationalization and the achievement of a welfare state. The modern state, Galbraith writes, is an Industrial State. On the other hand, political and social life is profoundly influenced by economic conditions. Karl Marx regarded politics as a part of political economy and maintained that the economic basis of society influences politics which belongs to the superstructure. Political movements and revolutions are profoundly influenced by economic causes. All political ideologies like liberalism, socialism, imperialism, fascism have an economic basis. The political behaviour of man and various organized groups is influenced by economic factors. The main functions of modern welfare state are basically economic. There are economic motives behind many political policies. Political norms like liberty, equality, rights, justice are very often evaluated on an economic basis. Thus there is close relationship between political and economic life. The interaction of the two disciplines has resulted in the increasing importance given to political economy in recent years. Political Science and Sociology No two social sciences are as closely related as political science and sociology. Sociology is the fundamental social science. It is the root of all the social sciences. It is the most comprehensive social science which studies all aspects of the life of man in society. In the words of Small, it is the science of men in their associated processes. Sociology has a much wider scope than political science. It is a study of society in all its manifestations, while political science is primarily a study of the state and government. In other words, sociology deals with man in all his social relations, while political science deals with the man in his political relations. Sociology deals with both organized and unorganised communities and groups, while political science is concerned with organised political communities. The subject of sociology is social man and that of political science is political man. The relation between the two sciences is well brought out by Garner. He writes: Sociology derives from political science knowledge of the facts regarding the organization and activities of the state, while political science derives in large measure from sociology its knowledge of the origin of political authority and the laws of social control. State and politics cannot be studied objectively without an understanding of the general laws of social development. Political institutions and processes are influenced by social forces and factors. Not only does sociology influence political science, but politics also influences the social system. The political system controls and regulates social forces and customs. Politics engineers the process of peaceful social change and is engaged in maintaining social stability and cooperation. Political control is the most important and the most effective among all forms of social control. Contemporary political studies have borrowed concepts, methods and techniques of research from sociology. The current sociological impact on the study of politics can be traced back to the influence of Max Weber. Interdisciplinary study of political science and sociology got tremendous fillip with the emergence of political behaviouralism. A new branch of study named political sociology has emerged as a result of the interaction between political science and sociology. G. Sartori has observed that politics has got socialised and society has got politicised in the present times to such an extent that politics cannot be studied in isolation from sociology. Political Science and Psychology Psychology is the science of mental attitudes and human behaviour. It studies human instincts, attitudes, sentiments and emotions. It has been emphasized that scientific study of social phenomena must have a psychological basis. Psychological factors have become increasingly important for understanding what people believe about politics and how they act in political situations. Study of political behaviour has assumed great significance under the impact of behaviouralism in political studies. The psychological approach in political science goes back to 1908 when A. F. Bentleys The Process of Government and Graham Wallass Human Nature in Politics were published. The psychological approach received further impetus from Chicago School political scientists such as C. E Merrium, Stuart Rice, George Catlin and Harold Lasswell. Modern writers like Tarde, Le Bon, McDougall, Graham Wallas, Baldwin and Ellwood have attempted to explain and interpret political and social phenomena through the laws of psychology. Governments to be stable and popular must reflect the mental ideas and moral sentiments of the people who are subject to its control. Modern governments have devised subtle methods of the psychological manipulation of the masses. Public opinion is being moulded by ingenious propaganda as in politics the art of controlling the mass mind is increasingly becoming the key to political power and stability. Political Science and Ethics Political science has close historical links with philosophy and ethics. Initially, the study of state in Greece was a part of ethics. Ethics as a branch of study investigates the laws of morality and formulates rules of conduct. Ethics is the science of the moral order while political science is the science of the political order. Both have to deal with questions of right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust. Plato conceived the notion of an ideal state in his Republic and believed that the state should train men in a life of virtue. The end of the state, according to Aristotle, is good life for the citizens. Modern idealists like Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Green have accepted the state as an ethical institution which creates conditions for the fullest development of human personality. Lord Acton goes so far as to say: The great question is to discover, not what governments prescribe, but what they ought to prescribe. Fox held that what is morally wrong can never be politically right. Gandhis lasting contribution to politics is his insistence upon the spiritualization of politics i.e., application of truth, non-violence, love, self-suffering to mans social and political life. The end of the state has been formulated by the greatest political thinkers in terms of moral values. The state exists to promote social and moral good on the largest possible scale. A good citizen is possible in a good state and perfect state cannot be conceived where wrong ethical principles prevail. Laws are obeyed with greater readiness if they are based on the moral ideas of the community. Politics also influences ethics. Politics safeguards the ethical norms of a society. The state acts as the guardian of social morality. The attempts of some contemporary political scientists to create a value-free political science have not been successful. David Easton aptly observes: The goal of value-free research is a myth The utility of political research stems from the fact that it helps men to decide upon the kind of political system they would prefer and to understand how to go about changing social policy to obtain it. The inspiration behind political science is clearly ethical. Political Science and Jurisprudence The state is a social phenomenon as well as a legal institution. From the legal point of view, the state is a person with rights and duties. It is a juristic personality subject to the process of law. The state operates through law and hence jurisprudence, as the science of law, is closely related to politics. Strictly jurisprudence is a subdivision of political science but on account of its vast scope and technical nature it is studied as a separate branch of study. Jurisprudence has several branches, namely, civil law, criminal law, constitutional law, international law etc. Constitutional law defines the organs of the state, their relations to one another, and the rights and duties of individuals. International law regulates the relations of states and various international organizations: If law influences politics, politics also influences law. Different political systems have different legal systems; Laws tend to be a reflex of a particular social pattern and are influenced by the nature of the political system. Political Science and Anthropology Anthropology deals with man as a social being. It deals with the origin, classification and relations of races, languages and cultures found in different localities. Politics uses the vast material gathered by anthropology. Physical anthropology dealing with the conditions of primitive men and their environment facilitates the study of the origin and evolution of various political institutions. Similarly social or cultural anthropology dealing with the growth and interpretation of customs, traditions, habits and religious beliefs etc., explains the forces and factors operating in political institutions. Anthropological data have assumed great importance in the study of the formation of national character. Political Science and Geography Many writers have emphasized the influence of geographical conditions and physical environment upon national character. Even national policies have been shown to be determined by such conditions. The influence of climate, topography, character of the soil, insularity, the presence or absence of mountains, rivers and outlets to the sea has been emphasized by various political thinkers from Aristotle to the present. Notable among them are Bodin, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Buckle. The emphasis upon geographical factors as determinants of state policy and governmental functioning has resulted in the development of a new science known as ‘Geopolitics’. Since territory is an important element of the state, geographical factors naturally influence political activities. These factors have assumed great significance especially in the field of defence strategy. Political Science and Statistics Statistics is concerned with systematic collection, analysis and presentation of numerical data. Von Mohl described statistics as a means through which a picture of existing political and social conditions could be obtained. Social phenomena and the results of governmental action are quantitatively measured by it. Statistical findings serve as a guide for administrative action, as a basis for legislation, and as a means for testing the expediency or effectiveness of political policies. Therefore, all governments collect statistical information concerning finance, trade, military and economic resources, social conditions of the people etc. Behavioural approach to the study of political science has put excessive stress on statistical methods (quantification, techniques), thereby contributing a lot to the scientific character of political science. The foregoing discussion clearly shows the intimate relation of political science to other social sciences. A proper understanding of political institutions, processes and phenomena calls for reliance upon a number of sister disciplines. Specialization of social sciences should not lead to narrow compartmentalization. Interdisciplinary approach to the study of social sciences has resulted in the blurring of rigid boundaries of various disciplines and highlighting the need for mutual exchange and interaction among social scientists.

Comparing Where Are you going, Where Have You Been and Hills Like White

Authors of great stories often use good technical writing skills. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two short stories: Where Are you going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and Hills Like White Elephants by Earnest Hemingway. The comparison and contrast will be done based on their use of plot, point of view and character development. The short story where are you going, where have you been is about a teenage girl who is, vain, self-doubting and affixed in the present. She does not know anything about the past or doubts it and has no plan of the future. She argues with her mother and she thinks she is jealous of her. The start of the plot is not very dramatic rather it is more like an introduction. We get a good description of the story’s Protagonist, Connie at the beginning of the story and through out. She is familiar, the typical American teenager, who dream, fantasize and have difficulty differentiating the real world from fairytale. Kozikowsky compares the story to the popular recent Disney tale â€Å"Cinderella† (1999). In â€Å"Where are you going, where have you been?† the setting of the story is not revealed at the beginning. The reader slowly learns about Connie’s family and her living condition throughout the story. In â€Å"Hills Like Elephants† by Ernest Hemingway, there is no dramatic situation at the beginning of the story either, rather He starts by giving us a detailed description of the setting. The reader gets a clear mental image of where the story will take place. The Author begins the story by introducing the scene since it will have a great significance in understanding the many symbolisms he will be using later. Some experts say that â€Å"Although there is a situation, there is no plot† ( Henningf... ... short story. Works cited Henningfeld, Diane Andrews. "Hills Like White Elephants." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Gale Kozikowski, Stan. "The Wishes and Dreams Our Hearts Make in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'." Journal of the Short Story in English. 33 (Autumn 1999): 89-103. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 70. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 89-103. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Renner, Stanley. "Moving to the girl's side of 'Hills Like White Elephants.'." The Hemingway Review. 15.1 (Fall 1995): p27. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Weeks, Lewis E., Jr. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in 'Hills like White Elephants'." Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 75-77. Literature Resource Center. Gale.

Ethical Theories Essay

Ethical egoism or egotism (also known as egoism) is the normative ethical arrangement that ethical agents have to do what is in their personal self-interest. It is different from psychological egoism, which declares that persons simply perform in their self-interest. Psychological egoism or egotism is the outlook that individuals are always aggravated by self-interest; even in what appears to be actions of altruism. It states that, when individuals decide to assist others, they do so eventually because of the private benefits that they themselves anticipate to get hold of, directly or indirectly, from acting so. It is indeed a non-normative vision, as it only makes arguments about how things are and not how they should be; it is conversely, linked to numerous other normative shapes of egoism, for instance ethical egoism and rational egoism. (Lundy, 2009). A quarrel for psychological egoism advises is that individuals just do what makes them sense fine, thus making all actions self-centered, for instance, you may help a turtle across a road because if you did not you would be upset about its well-being crossing the road. So in turn to sense good physically, you assist the turtle. The issue with this is it sounds like it is defining a generous person, one that gains contentment from serving others, a selfish person most probable would not have been dreadfully worried for the turtle in the first instance. Furthermore, if we glance to the deeper stimulus of the turtle helper’s actions, as the psychological egoists are likely to do and inquire why the individual derives pleasure from serving others in general and the turtle particularly, you will most probable run into the wrapping up that the individual cares about what comes about to others. This line of quarrel is actually a perplexity of the object of aspiration and auxiliary results of the consummation of that need; if once you get wedded you are enormously satisfied, that does not inevitably suggest that you got wedded with the wish for that pleasure in mind, rather the contentment is a purpose of your desire for wedding and would not be otherwise. Ethical egoism is the normative assumption that the encouragement of one’s own good is in accordance with morals, in the strong side, it is held that it is for all time moral to encourage one’s own good and it is by no means moral not to encourage it. In the weak side, it is supposed that even though it is for all time moral to promote one’s own good, it is not inevitably never moral to not. Explicitly, there might be conditions in which the evasion of private interest may be a moral deed. Ethical egoism states that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It differs from psychological egoism, which claims that people do only act in their self-interest. The principle of psychological egoism is non-ethical, supported by the idea that the reason that drives us is the hunt of our own wellbeing, to the barring of anybody else’s, it is just how we are, entirely self centered. Freud (1923) defined ego as â€Å"the mind-ful rationalizing segment of the mind. †, so each action reasoned out has deeds to serve the self. On the contrary, ethical egoists suppose that the moral significance lies in glancing out for yourself and when provoked this way, each action, even serving others, takes you further down the road to attaining your own finest interests. The difference would appear to lie in the entire selfishness of psychological egoism as opposite to the helping of other’s wellbeing while focusing on one’s own, this appears equally beneficial and enhanced for society. It is uncertain whether each theory can be held as a factual ethical philosophy, if the classification of self-centeredness is applied, meaning that we always repudiate to judge others in favor of our own satisfaction, aggravated by our needs only, then facts of misleading notion has shown this to be incorrect. Self-interest portrays an individual who is engrossed in what he perceives to be what serves up his interests best, if applied to ethical egoism, there is proof to knock over this as well, it would require to be a general concept to have the power to stand as a moral assumption and it is not. The proof of altruistic instincts and integrity of concern for others is more general and stronger than either of these two above mentioned theories. It is more probable that we all own elements of self-interest and self-conservation, but are intrinsically willing to help and get by with others in society; nevertheless, it is in our best concerns to do so. (The internet encyclopedia of philosophy, n. d. ). Frequently attacks of self-interest are leveled alongside anyone performing in their own advantage as if no one should be concerned for themselves; I suggest that there is a distinction between self-centeredness and self-interest, self-centeredness is performing in your benefit with no regard and sometimes hurting other individuals. On the contrary, self-interest assists society flourish, self-interest is performing in your benefit but with reflection of others needs. Self-interest for a person, corporation or state is crucial for endurance. Reference Lundy, A. (2009). Psychological and Ethical Egoism. June 30th, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. socyberty. com/Philosophy/Psychological-and-Ethical-Egoism. 508525 The internet encyclopedia of philosophy. (n. d. ). Egoism. June 30th, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. iep. utm. edu/e/egoism. htm Vita, L. E. (2007). On Selfishness and Self-Interest. June 30th, 2009. Retrieved from: http://ethanleevita. blogspot. com/2007/12/on-selfishness-and-self-interest. html

Netiquette: Meanings, Definitions, and Interpretations

Netiquette has several different meanings, definitions, and interpretations between people. It can either have the literal definition or it can be someone's concept of what they think it means, to me whether the person uses their definition or the literal one Is what makes them have the â€Å"Netiquette† factor on their side. As an example to my previous statements everyone has a different spectrum of what they believe Is netiquette or not, and what they use as netiquette. To me you never want to lead off an essay with â€Å"First off', it's too casual and sounds horrible.You want to draw the reader In and get them Involved, Its stuff you learn In reading and writing 101. The most Important netiquette rules are things such as, use spell check and grammar check, don't talk or type In â€Å"slang†, don't type In all â€Å"CAPS†, being fluent In your words knowing the meaning of what you type, and of course common sense. If you are trying to do a formal paper of so me sort please use common sense when It comes to everything from punctuation to spelling and not using shortcuts, such as typing in â€Å"text† etc.As far as least important netiquette rules, I don't think you can have a least important one. All in all if you want to have an impact on your audience and draw those in you can use netiquette to accomplish this. As far as â€Å"golden rules† go I believe all the netiquette rules I have mentioned above are good golden rules. People should definitely use netiquette rules when preparing papers for college or for a Job where you need to have an impact on your readers. Netiquette is a good skill to have and is valuable anywhere and with anything you do.

about dreams essays

about dreams essays The subconscious is usually the right side of the brain or the opposite side of the persons writing hand. Within the subconscious lie different types of things such as suppressed emotions, creativity, and basic human instinct (Ullman and Zimmerman 1979). The conscious part of the mind works when people are awake and is the part of the mind that handles things that people can understand. No one truly knows why a person can't interact with the subconscious while awake, however studies show that dreams are a way in which people can better comprehend its behavior. The condition of the body during dreaming is interesting because the brain shuts off all sensory receptors thus, canceling all somatic impulses (Ullman and Zimmerman 1979). This puts the body in an almost paraplegic state. The brain however continues to control all autonomic functions such as blood flow, heart pulsation, and lung inflation. During the sleep, homeostasis will fluctuate because sleep occurs on four stages (Davidm ann, 1998). The individual goes from awake to stage 1, then to 2, 3, and finally 4, the deepest stage of sleep. After spending about twenty minutes in stage 4, they return to stage 1 and progress back to stage 4. The individual will continue to make these cycles throughout their sleep. Most individuals will experience about 4 to 5 cycles a night (Davidmann, 1998). This is why humans are more apt to wake up at specific times in the night and not sporadically (most people do not notice this however). During stage 1 the individual will experience what has been named REM (Rapid Eye Movement), I will make further elaboration on REM momentarily. For now I would like to point out that during REM the body will show more signs of consciousness by spontaneous muscle contractions, flagellate excretion, and oculomoter coordination (eye movement). The body will experience these tensions and reactions because this is the active time of sleep in the average human (Dav ...

Responsibility in Society and Education

Responsibility in Society and Education Taking responsibility is often discussed as a challenging process because of the associated limits and frames in behaviors and feelings of blame or duty. In addition, responsibility is usually associated with the personal maturity of an individual who can act conscientiously and focus on consequences of his or her actions (Perring, 2014, p. 18).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Responsibility in Society and Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From this point, the idea of responsibility is discussed in different situations when a person is expected to demonstrate a certain response to events, processes, and behaviors. The implicit idea behind the notion of ‘responsibility’ is that this response should be moral and accountable (King Carruthers, 2012, p. 201). The purpose of this paper is to examine the aspects of the definition of ‘responsibility’, to discuss the recent debates on the concept of ‘responsibility’ in the scholarly literature, and to analyze the idea of responsibility with references to the known cases of responsible actions and with the focus on the students’ responsibility in the context of education. Definition of the Problem In spite of the fact that the idea of responsibility is explained to persons since their childhood, and they learn to be responsible while studying and behaving, the notion is still discussed as complex for understanding. It is rather difficult to overestimate the role of responsibility demonstrated by persons in the society because this concept is also closely related to the notions of morality, ethics, and duty (Khoury, 2012, p. 188). From this perspective, people are inclined to view responsibility as an important aspect of their life, and the understanding of this idea is developed through the education and social interactions. The problem is in the fact that researchers and educators impose d ifferent meanings on the idea of responsibility as a moral, philosophical, and social concept. According to Isaacs (2014), responsibility can be divided into personal and social, and the man’s actions differ depending on the type of responsibility that a person can assume (p. 41). In addition, there are disparities between taking responsibility for something and acting responsibly (Toumayan, 2014, p. 270). Therefore, the detailed examination of the concept of responsibility is required. The Meaning of ‘Responsibility’ Although people can claim that they understand what the concept of ‘responsibility’ means, researchers distinguish a variety of approaches from which this idea can be viewed. Williams (2013) defines responsibility as a state of accepting the control over the certain actions or processes within the community, and this definition is related to the social responsibility (p. 352).Advertising Looking for research paper on social scie nces? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ciurria (2014) is inclined to define responsibility with the focus on the moral aspects, and in this case, responsibility is a duty of a person for certain actions, behaviors, and processes (p. 546). Isaacs (2014) also defines responsibility from the perspective of the ethical paradigm, and she states that responsibility is â€Å"the praiseworthiness or blameworthiness of moral agents† (p. 41). Chandler (2013) views responsibility as the social or personal concept associated with the moral assessment conducted in order to understand who can be blamed or appreciated for the certain actions (p. 176). Another perspective is the discussion of responsibility from the point of taking responsibility for performing some actions and accepting responsibility for certain consequences (Dempsey, 2015, p. 320). Thus, researchers define and explain responsibility as the state of being accountabl e for words, actions, behaviors, and their consequences that can affect not only the personal life but also the other people. For the purpose of the research, the idea of responsibility should be not only defined but also explained with the focus on the recent debates in the literature. Literature Review Applying the theoretical background to the idea of responsibility, researchers refer to the theory of moral responsibility formulated by P. F. Strawson. In her work, Ciurria (2014) rephrases Strawson’s vision of moral responsibility as the people’s â€Å"tendency to express the reactive attitudes of gratitude, resentment, disapprobation †¦ toward others in light of their intentional actions† (p. 545). From this perspective, responsibility is considered in those cases where a person acts against the widely accepted moral norms or other types of rules. According to this theory, while acting in the society, a person should be ready to the assessment of his or her responsibility or responsible actions by the public. These assessments are discussed as â€Å"reactive attitudes†, and the whole idea of responsibility becomes viewed as the â€Å"social competence† that determines how effectively a person can interact within the society (Ciurria, 2014, p. 551). Another important theory to explain the principles of responsibility is formulated by Emmanuel Levinas, who focused on the responsibility to protect. According to Toumayan (2014), who explained Levinas’ ideas, the responsibility to protect is observed in those cases where leaders decide on the further steps for the benefit of people (p. 270). Thus, both theories explain the responsibility toward others.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Responsibility in Society and Education specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Responsibility toward the public is often referred to as the political responsibility because the public imposes certain obligations on political leaders to be responsible for nations and their development (King Carruthers, 2012). In this context, focusing on the responsibility toward the masses and predicting consequences at the global arena, Chandler (2013) speaks about the people’s †embeddedness in emergent chains of causality† in the context of acting responsibly (p. 176). However, Chandler (2013) also notes that, imposing the full responsibility for certain activities and processes observed in countries and globally on political leaders, people try to avoid taking their personal responsibility for their life and the life of their families (p. 177). The history demonstrates that the responsibility toward the society as the performance of activities for the benefits of masses is adopted only by a few individuals, and the full understanding of the concept of social responsibility is observed in relation to communities and organizations within wh ich people interact (Waghid, 2014, p. 5; Wartell, 2013, p. 167). According to Dempsey (2015), in this case, people act responsibly when they follow moral norms and rules set in the concrete settings or organization (p. 319). Nevertheless, discussing the responsibility toward other people, researchers also pay attention to the idea of the personal responsibility. The problem of the personal responsibility as the idea of accepting one’s duty for performing certain activities and making right choices is discussed by researchers from the perspective of making responsible choices that are appropriate for a person and from the perspective of accepting someone’s authority to assess the person’s responsibility (Isaacs, 2014, p. 41; Khoury, 2012, p. 188). Williams (2013) notes that people can discuss only some persons having the accountability to blame them â€Å"for certain forms of vice or misconduct†, and in this case, it is necessary to speak about the problem of standing and authority (p. 351).Advertising Looking for research paper on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Referring to students, Lewis, Romi, and Roache (2012) state that young people usually accept the authority of educators to blame them for being irresponsible, but they often do not accept the judgments of their peers (p. 871). Thus, the literature demonstrates that the personal responsibility makes people analyze all the outcomes of their actions, but people are often not ready to be blamed for irresponsible actions in spite of providing the evaluations for others. Examples of Responsibility and Responsible Actions While focusing on the real-life examples of demonstrating responsibility in relations with relatives and friends, in personal behaviors, as well as in the educational and professional spheres, researchers propose the evidence of acting responsibly in relation to children, parents, relatives, friends, and colleagues. In a family, the vivid example of responsibility is the parents’ attitude to their children when parents think about the benefits of their behavior for the child. The responsible behaviors include care and attention in this case. In the educational sphere, it is possible to speak about the responsibility of students for their results in learning and the responsibility of educators for the achievements of their students. In his work, Wartell (2013) argues that it is a different level of educators’ responsibility when they are responsible for performing their professional tasks and when they are responsible for students’ attitudes to the study and career choices (p. 166). In spite of the fact that families take the primary responsibility for developing people’s visions and intentions, educators also take the significant level of responsibility in order to provoke the students’ interests in certain activities and develop their own understanding of responsibility. Another example of responsibility can be observed in the workplace where people are paid for being responsible and motivated to achieve the high results. People who perform their duties in time and carefully are often discussed as responsible, but this example of responsibility does not illustrate the deep meaning of this concept. According to Dempsey (2015), the responsible action in the workplace is the avoidance of unethical behaviors and words contributing to developing the corporate culture (p. 321). From this point, the examples of responsibility vary depending on the people’s visions of this idea. Cases of Responsibility in the Historical and Social Contexts While concentrating on the real-life examples and cases of responsibility that are important to be discussed in order to contribute to the understanding of the concept, it is necessary to mention the responsibility of Prophet Muhammad, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, Albert Einstein, and Mother Teresa. In spite of the fact that these people held responsibility toward different categories of population, their words and actions were perceived as important for the society and advantageous for the public. In his work, Ushama (2015) analyzes words from the Muslim Scriptures focusing on the role of Prophet Muhammad as a person set by Allah to become responsible for educating others to cope with hardships and find the blessings in the faith (p. 54). If Prophet Muhammad is an example of the person responsible toward the public in terms of religion, Nelson Mandela is often viewed as a responsible person playing in the political environments. Mandela’s teachings on responsibility for the community contributed to creating the strong national force protecting the rights of the South African public. Waghid (2014) notes that according to Mandela â€Å"acting responsibly towards the other requires of a person to treat another person humanely in the sense of not violating the personhood of the other person† (p. 5). This principle provided the grounds for Mandela’s humanistic philosophy based on the idea of the responsibility of everyo ne toward others. Malcolm X is regarded as a political, social, and religious leader who also declared the idea of accountability convincing the masses to take responsibility for their personal racist actions and convincing the officials to accept responsibility for discrimination against the religious and racial grounds (Mbunga, 2013, p. 10). In the sphere of science, it is important to refer to the responsibility of Albert Einstein who drew the public’s attention to the role of people’s scientific actions and discoveries for the development and formulated the principles of the philosophy of science. In the social sphere, the leader is Mother Teresa, who accepted her duty for helping other people to become responsible for orphans, as well as poor and sick people who need the assistance in the society. According to King and Carruthers (2012), these personalities accepted their moral responsibility to other people and focused on assisting others to become more responsib le for their actions (p. 202). These discussed cases demonstrate how the responsible actions of each person can change the world around them. Analysis of the Concept of ‘Responsibility’ While referring to the literature review and the examination of the examples, as well as cases of responsibility that have the historic and social meaning, it is important to conduct the analysis of this concept in detail. It is important to determine the difference between taking responsibility and acting responsibly, discuss advantages and disadvantages related to the concept, and analyze this idea in relation to students’ behaviors. Taking Responsibility and Acting Responsibly It is important to state that examples and cases of responsibility, as well as the researchers’ claims, indicate that taking responsibility for something is not the same as acting responsibly and according to certain rules and expectations. While taking responsibility for behaving wrongly, a person cannot change anything (Isaacs, 2014, p. 45). On the contrary, acting responsibly, a person predicts consequences and can avoid failures. From this point, responsibility is primarily associated with acting responsibly, understanding positive and negative outcomes of actions or absence of actions. In this context, responsibility has a few similarities with blameworthiness and taking responsibility for the past actions without actual steps to change the situation (Khoury, 2012, p. 189). The problem is in the fact that, demonstrating blameworthiness and focusing on the responsibility of other people, individuals are inclined to ignore their personal responsibility for actions, as it was noted by Chandler (2013), who discussed the political responsibility (p. 177). In the context of education, students are inclined to impose responsibilities for their academic failures on teachers, and educators can impose the responsibility for problems on policymakers and developers of curricula. Adv antages and Disadvantages of Acting Responsibly One of the main reasons for adopting responsibility by only mature and conscientious persons is the fact that acting responsibly has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of responsibility is the understanding of all outcomes associated with the person’s behavior and actions (Ciurria, 2014, p. 547). The person knows that he or she did all possible in order to achieve the concrete results, and this person becomes ready to any consequences. However, the necessity of acting responsibly can be discussed as having disadvantages because of limiting people in their actions and providing certain moral frames. The feeling of responsibility makes people act not according to their desires but according to the goals and plans (Perring, 2014, p. 18). Still, the perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of responsibility are often different. Thus, responsible students can view the process of acting responsibly as an advantage bec ause they perceive the process of studying as building the fundament for the future career. On the other hand, irresponsible students can see the idea of responsibility as full of disadvantages because it prevents them from acting in a desired manner before performing actions for which they are responsible. The Value of Responsibility for Students Responsibility is usually associated with the personal maturity. In the case of students, the full understanding of responsibility is typical of those students who are obtaining their degrees and planning the career. The reason is that the choice of studying and acting responsibly is often based on the analysis of possible consequences of intended actions (Wartell, 2013, p. 167). The main motivation for students to study well and achieve higher results in this case is the orientation to the future and the understanding of the role of the study in the personal and professional development (Saxon, 2013, p. 14). The level of maturity and expe rience of the majority of undergraduate students allow them understanding that such negative consequences as the unemployment and the failure to realize their professional potential can be expected if their actions and the attitude to the study are not responsible enough (Wartell, 2013, p. 166). According to Lewis et al. (2012), teachers often pay much attention to developing the vision of responsibility in their students in order to help them adapt to the world where responsibility serves to provide certain moral norms and rules (p. 872). From this point, the value of responsibility for students is high because the development of the personal responsibility can influence the overall successfulness of a student in the study and career. Conclusion Although the idea of responsibility is actively developed in the modern society, there is still no single definition adopted for the concept because of the variety of aspects covered by this notion. However, responsibility plays the key rol e in discussing the nature of the personality because responsible actions are often discussed by researchers as morally appropriate behaviors. Moreover, the idea of responsibility is also discussed in the context of developing in persons the understanding of accountability and blame. Thus, the understanding of the role of responsibility is also important for students who should act taking into account the advice of educators and their goals for the future. References Chandler, D. (2013). Resilience ethics: Responsibility and the globally embedded subject. Ethics Global Politics, 6(3), 175-220. Ciurria, M. (2014). Moral responsibility: Justifying Strawson and the excuse of peculiarly unfortunate formative circumstances. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 17(3), 545-557. Dempsey, J. (2015). Moral responsibility, shared values, and corporate culture. Business Ethics Quarterly, 25(3), 319-340. Isaacs, T. (2014). Collective responsibility and collective obligation. Midwest Studies in Ph ilosophy, 38(1), 40-57. Khoury, A. (2012). Responsibility, tracing, and consequences. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 42(4), 187-208. King, M., Carruthers, P. (2012). Moral responsibility and consciousness. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 9(2), 200-228. Lewis, R., Romi, S., Roache, J. (2012). Excluding students from classroom: Teacher techniques that promote student responsibility. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 28(6), 870-889. Mbunga, M. (2013). Malcolm X and Christianity: Engaging the criticisms and moving towards an African-Centered Christianity that can advance Pan-Africanism in the 21st century. Journal of Intercultural Disciplines, 13(1), 9-22. Perring, C. (2014). Methodology in ascribing moral responsibility. Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, 21(1), 17-20. Saxon, P. (2013). Student responsibility and self-directed learning: An interview with Christine McPhail. Journal of Developmental Education, 36(3), 14-17. Toumayan, A. ( 2014). The responsibility for the other and the responsibility to protect. Philosophy Social Criticism, 40(3), 269-288. Ushama, T. (2015). Is Islam a religion of ease or hardship? An analysis of the Muslim scripture and patterns of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him). Asian Social Science, 11(1), 51. Waghid, Y. (2014). Philosophical remarks on Nelson Mandelas education legacy. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46(1), 4-7. Wartell, M. (2013). Historic changes, expanding responsibilities for higher education. Journal of College and Character, 14(2), 165-170. Williams, G. (2013). Sharing responsibility and holding responsible. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 30(4), 351-364.