ABSTRACT

This chapter attempts to propose a picture of responsibility that is stronger in tackling the problems arising from its terminological ambiguity without dismissing such fertile plurality. It achieves such an attempt by making explicit the underlying sense and scope of the concept of responsibility. By defining the relation between its different meanings, people will obtain an ethical understanding of responsibility. The chapter suggests that the political and institutional nature of the discourse on responsibility should be the actual grounds for implementing Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). Responsibility and the imperative of a responsible action are pervading lives through different social registers. At work, in families and in relations with others, people are told to be responsible or people are made responsible for something or someone. Accordingly, the implementation of responsibility, especially within the framework of RRI, cannot be delegated to scientific or abstract criteria but should be promoted according to clear political measures.