Responsibility and obligation are two words that can mean the same thing as well as implying different meanings. If that doesn't make sense, let me explain:
Responsibility can be comprehended to different extents. For example, it is a kid's responsibility to take out the trash. It is a parent's responsibility to take care of their kids. It is a teacher's responsibility to teach their students. It is a president's responsibility to run their country as well as they can. A responsibility is essentially something you have or do that is socially expected. In other words, responsibility is basically when you are solely in charge of any item and you and only you are answerable to anything that happens to it. If you have a job, essentially, your responsibilities are the connotations, or expectations, of what someone in your position would do.
Now an obligation is in a sense a collateral of a responsibility. For example, if you ask your neighbor to look after your dog, and they do, and they then ask you to look over their dog, it is your obligation to say yes and take care of their dog. Obligations are also more of a privately social concept: they are, like responsibilities but less defined, sort of like unwritten rules that, if broken or disobeyed, can cause people to distrust you or become angry at you. What it really condenses to is that obligations are sacred and not meant to be taken lightly. If someone is irresponsible, people look at them like they're annoying or kind of just avoid them. If someone breaks an obligation, they are viewed as untrustworthy and sometimes even scummy. This is because obligations are really more of moral values.
So, in the end, it really comes down to one little definition: Responsibility is a duty; obligation is a human trait.
The sentence that I found the most interesting was in the third paragraph, "For example..." I chose that because most people don't see it that way. If someone does you a favor, I believe it should be returned by doing something equally nice back but some people think otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIf your parents tell you to clean your room is that an obligation or responsibility?
Is doing your homework a responsibility or an obligation?
I would be most interested in reading about a situation where you had to choose between doing an obligation or a responsibility.
I really like your blog, my favorite sentence in all is “This is because obligations are really more of moral values,” because you really supported that idea. I’ve never really went into depth thinking about the difference between responsibility and obligation but you explain it very well in your point of view, and using examples we can all understand or connect too. The topic is really broad but you narrowed it down into “Responsibility is a duty; obligation is a human trait.” When does responsibility become an obligation? Or the other way around?
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