You maybe wonder if I quit my mission (fighting the bacteria). Well, there's a wild party going on in the appartment keeping me from falling asleep. Doesn't matter, I'm not tired anyway *uaaaaaah* Time to crack my little brain open and show you what was going on in there for the last few days (besides: "uahhhbrbrbrbrbrHOT!").
I was thinking about responsability. Why? Because I was reflecting on my illness and came to the result that if I have the power to make me sick, I have everything I need to go the other way round. This is a notion quite close to something simple that is called personal responsability - and it's in fact one of the hardest things I know...But now comes the interesting part:
I was thinking in German (forgive me, but hey, at least I thought, hugh?) and the word that came to my mind was Verantwortung, which contains the word Antwort. I checked and it's the same for all other languages I'm (quite) familiar with at the mom': responsabilité and réponse in French, responsability and response in English; ansvara and svar in Swedish (which is of course very close to answer and also made me think of the German schwören; to vow or swear).
I was thinking in German (forgive me, but hey, at least I thought, hugh?) and the word that came to my mind was Verantwortung, which contains the word Antwort. I checked and it's the same for all other languages I'm (quite) familiar with at the mom': responsabilité and réponse in French, responsability and response in English; ansvara and svar in Swedish (which is of course very close to answer and also made me think of the German schwören; to vow or swear).
It may seem very evident and uninteresting to you, but I was struck by the fact that there seems to be a very common definition of this notion and that it has to do something with an answer, a reaction; a response - but it has to be made in a very specific way, obviously. I didn't see the connection first and it made me all nervous, then I couldn't find anything about the ethymologie of these words and then finally I decided to use my brain:
Good, so responsability doesn't always come naturally although it's necessary if you want to survive, I guess. It is said that children have to learn responsability and there have always been different ways to teach them (e.g.: in the middle-ages litte children were given birds to take care of, at least I know it was so in Burgundy). Taking responsability for others is always a risky thing (because no-one can tell you if your efforts will be acknowledged) but it's sometimes necessary. Taking responsability for yourself is also a risky undertaking, but in a different way: your efforts will always be acknowledged, but you will loose the comfort of imaginary leaning on someone else's shoulder. But no matter what we are taking responsability of/who we do it for: it does never appear suddenly but is developed in the personality while we are dealing with challenges.
When we take responsability, we answer a challenge. That means that we must have heard it's call first. We didn't ignore it and pretend it wasn't there so someone else would have to take charge.
Conclusion: responsability has to do with communication (call & answer), listening, making a commitment and making yourself heard in some way by this. It's about answering the phone and not hanging up when life is calling, or something like that *please take out your hankies*
Phew, another problem solved. And now I'm quite astonished how satisfying answers I'm able to give myself without having any "Mag" or "Dr" or "Prof" in front of my name (YET!)... But if you, by some reason, know the correct ethymological answer to this mystery, please tell me!
Good, so responsability doesn't always come naturally although it's necessary if you want to survive, I guess. It is said that children have to learn responsability and there have always been different ways to teach them (e.g.: in the middle-ages litte children were given birds to take care of, at least I know it was so in Burgundy). Taking responsability for others is always a risky thing (because no-one can tell you if your efforts will be acknowledged) but it's sometimes necessary. Taking responsability for yourself is also a risky undertaking, but in a different way: your efforts will always be acknowledged, but you will loose the comfort of imaginary leaning on someone else's shoulder. But no matter what we are taking responsability of/who we do it for: it does never appear suddenly but is developed in the personality while we are dealing with challenges.
When we take responsability, we answer a challenge. That means that we must have heard it's call first. We didn't ignore it and pretend it wasn't there so someone else would have to take charge.
Conclusion: responsability has to do with communication (call & answer), listening, making a commitment and making yourself heard in some way by this. It's about answering the phone and not hanging up when life is calling, or something like that *please take out your hankies*
Phew, another problem solved. And now I'm quite astonished how satisfying answers I'm able to give myself without having any "Mag" or "Dr" or "Prof" in front of my name (YET!)... But if you, by some reason, know the correct ethymological answer to this mystery, please tell me!
***
And now that I finished writing this down, the awful party-crowd finally got their asses out of the door and into town so I'll be able to sleeeeeeep... YIPIIIE! (You just assisted at my definite metamorphosis into a REAL, boring humanist, good night)
3 comments:
that sounds quite plausible, responsibility...Verantwortung...dann noch die Tatsache, dass das gute re- im Lateinischen so eine Art zurueckl bedeuten, das trifft schon ganz das Reaktive und da ist es wieder, dieses re....ach Etymologie ist was Feines
yeah, etymologie is fascinating! i'm all excited!
it's the next thing I wanna study, right after art history, philosophy, ethics, swedish, tcm, trees, birds and ants. (i heard them scientific people say the brain's capacities are unfailable...)
;)
haha that's quite a programme.....you would also study the etymology of all that....I heard that too, about the brain capacities... ;)
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