The adage goes
as follows: “Reason is what separates Man from the animals.” Animals as a whole
are not able to
act under reason or logic; they act only under spirit and
appetite. For this example, let’s narrow “animal” down to a specific one: a
rabbit. Consider the gamut of actions that a rabbit can perform. It can move
around (walk, hop, etc.), it can eat, it can reproduce, and it can become some
form of clothing or food. When a rabbit moves around, eats, or reproduces, it
is simply following its appetites. If a predator startles the rabbit, it will
run away; this is due to spirit. While it may seem odd to include its uses as
food or clothing, it is still a form of involuntary action caused by an
external force. A rabbit cannot deliberate because it has no reason. A rabbit
would steal food from another simply because its instincts say that it needs
food; it does not have the capacity to
understand justice. According to
Aristotle, chosen voluntary actions and involuntary actions caused by
self-induced ignorance are the only types of actions for which someone or
something can be responsible. So when it comes down to it, a rabbit, or any
other animal, would need to somehow acquire the ability to reason. If a rabbit
could reason, it could perform actions for which is was morally responsible and
thus be a “responsible agent.”
Part 2
In the third book of his Nicomachean
Ethics, Aristotle lays out his theory of
responsibility after appropriately
preparing the reader through explanations of character acquisition and action.
He claims that everyone is responsible for their virtues and their vices
because he argues that they are inherently voluntary. Before delving too deep
into the concept of responsibility, one must first understand Aristotle’s
explanations of action and character acquisition for they are essential to his
argument.