ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter seeks to extend a theme in the last two chapters concerning the nature of individual responsibility. It does so, first, in relation to some reflections by Anthony Giddens (1991) on the nature of guilt in ‘late modern’ society and, secondly, in relation to the argument of the previous chapter concerning the irreducible relationship between individual agency and social context. It then relates these themes to discussion of one particular case study of the nature of guilt, the case of Albert Speer, as interpreted in an important book by Gitta Sereny (1995). The chapter is of a preliminary and investigative kind, drawing on disparate sources. Its basic aim is to consider the role of ‘community’ in the formation of selfhood in a way that steers a middle course between positions that would see the question of individual guilt or responsibility for an act as either a discrete question for individuals or for communities. Sereny’s biography of Speer reflects the former standpoint, Giddens’ argument the latter. What I seek to do is to develop the idea of guilt or responsibility as involving a ‘space between’ the individual and the community. In speaking of guilt and responsibility, I will use these two terms interchangeably to reflect the sense of responsibility HLA Hart (1968, p 225) describes as being ‘morally blameworthy, or morally obliged to make amends for a harm’.1
