What do we mean when we say: "Responsibility?" In its current use, ‘Responsibility’ means the duty to give an account to an authority for one's action that has violated legal or moral rules, and the duty to suffer the consequent sanction. But this meaning, that we can define as sanctionary, it is not the only one. In this article I propose a semantic analysis of the terms ‘responsibility’, ‘responsabilité’, ‘responsabilità’ which appeared at the end of 700 during the French Revolution. In fact when the word 'responsibility' appeared for the first time in Great Britain in parliamentary discussion it was 1769, and this new word represented the need of the king's ministers to answer for the acts carried out while exercising their public power. One or two years later, "Responsabilité" appeared on the French political scene, meaning the duty of Minister and public functionaries and officials to give an account for their public role. With the same meaning the word ‘risponsabilità’ appeared in Italy where it has been used since 1760. This semantic analysis shows that “responsibility” it is an ambiguous term that has many meanings that have been stratified in time and that do not create a coherent system.

Responsabilità: origine e significati / Foddai, Giovanna Maria Antonietta. - In: DIRITTO@STORIA. - ISSN 1825-0300. - 10:(2012).

Responsabilità: origine e significati

FODDAI, Giovanna Maria Antonietta
2012-01-01

Abstract

What do we mean when we say: "Responsibility?" In its current use, ‘Responsibility’ means the duty to give an account to an authority for one's action that has violated legal or moral rules, and the duty to suffer the consequent sanction. But this meaning, that we can define as sanctionary, it is not the only one. In this article I propose a semantic analysis of the terms ‘responsibility’, ‘responsabilité’, ‘responsabilità’ which appeared at the end of 700 during the French Revolution. In fact when the word 'responsibility' appeared for the first time in Great Britain in parliamentary discussion it was 1769, and this new word represented the need of the king's ministers to answer for the acts carried out while exercising their public power. One or two years later, "Responsabilité" appeared on the French political scene, meaning the duty of Minister and public functionaries and officials to give an account for their public role. With the same meaning the word ‘risponsabilità’ appeared in Italy where it has been used since 1760. This semantic analysis shows that “responsibility” it is an ambiguous term that has many meanings that have been stratified in time and that do not create a coherent system.
2012
Responsabilità: origine e significati / Foddai, Giovanna Maria Antonietta. - In: DIRITTO@STORIA. - ISSN 1825-0300. - 10:(2012).
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11388/84514
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact