Posted by Larry Hoover on June 2, 2003, at 12:48:05
In reply to Re: CBT and metacognition, posted by Dinah on June 2, 2003, at 11:39:31
> Hi Matt. I'm afraid that that subtle distinction is one of those ones that my mind is not nuanced enough to make. And believe me, there are many. My therapist goes around and around with me sometimes to get me to understand distinctions between things that to me are the same. I don't really get the distinction between holding someone responsible and in some way blaming them for not living up to those responsibilities.Really excellent issue to examine....
Here's my slant.
Holding someone responsible implies that there are duties or obligations arising from a decision, and that these are implicitly part of the decision. The individual is "expected", I guess, to take that on, regardless of outcome. I would say the responsibility is "built in", a priori. Like criminal law.
Blaming is reactive in nature, flowing from others (or self), based on outcomes. In this case, the responsibility is "added on", post hoc. Like moral indignation.
I'm not suggesting that these are mutually exclusive. Far from that, as both can reasonably arise from the same situation.
Here's an essay on the subject, if you're interested:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-responsibility/Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:230572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030529/msgs/230818.html