Theme

Responsibility philosophy quotes

Responsibility asks what we answer for—our choices, omissions, institutions, and the futures we help create.

Why this theme matters

Philosophical debates cover free will, blame, collective responsibility, and duties to distant others. Technology and AI revive the question of who is accountable when systems act.

In the history of philosophy

From legal and theological notions of guilt to existential ownership of freedom and contemporary ethics of care, responsibility links agency to moral address.

Thinkers in this collection

Plato , Jean-Paul Sartre , Confucius , Mencius , Zhang Zai , Liang Qichao , Dhammapada , Bhagavad Gita

Frequently asked questions

What is responsibility in philosophy?

It is the condition of being answerable for actions, attitudes, or outcomes under norms of praise, blame, or repair.

Can groups be responsible?

Many philosophers argue yes—corporations, states, and movements can bear duties beyond any single member.

Where are philosophy quotes about responsibility?

See the verified English passages on this theme page and related pages on freedom and action.

  1. Justice is doing one's own work and not meddling in others'.
  2. Existence precedes essence.
  3. Man is condemned to be free.
  4. In choosing himself, man chooses all men.
  5. The Master said: The gentleman seeks it in himself; the petty person seeks it in others.
  6. Mencius said: In obscurity, cultivate yourself alone; when successful, bring goodness to all under Heaven.
  7. To establish the mind for Heaven and Earth; to secure the destiny of the people; to continue the interrupted learning of the past sages; to open peace for all ages.
  8. The two sayings I have found most useful in life are these: responsibility, and delight.… What I speak of today as respect for one's work is responsibility; delight in one's work is interest. I deeply believe that a reasonable human life should be like this.
  9. One is one's own refuge; who else could be the refuge?
  10. One should lift oneself by the Self and not degrade oneself; for the Self alone is friend and enemy of the self.
  11. If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?
  12. the banality of evil
  13. It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.
  14. We are not born for ourselves alone.
  15. What I propose… is nothing more than to think what we are doing.
  16. The heaviest penalty is to be ruled by someone worse than oneself.
  17. Zengzi said: A scholar-officer must be broad and resolute, for his burden is heavy and his Way is long.
  18. What you have inherited from your fathers, earn it in order to possess it.