The concept of freedom has as one of its underlying precepts the idea of responsibility.

But what exactly is "responsibility", and what does it entail?

According to one dictionary, responsibility is defined as "the state or quality of being responsible; accountability; reliability; a charge for which one is responsible."

Now, in order to properly define a word, it is fundamental that the word to be defined not be used in the definition, and the above example violates that rule twice.

"Responsibility" is one of those rather frustrating words that we think we know quite clearly what it means, yet we struggle to explain it.

What we really often mean when we use the word "responsible" is to refer to the method or rationale by which we indicate the person to whom credit or blame accrues as a result of actions taken or attempted.

The person "responsible" for an action may accurately be afforded the credit or the blame for the results arising from the action.