Responsibility and Cultures of the World

Book excerpt: This book brings together eleven contributions by authors from all parts of the world who have examined the notion of responsibility in their respective countries. In the first part Edith Sizoo presents a comparative analysis of those texts which reflect a rich variety of worldviews and traditions: harmony with the earth and relational ethics in the Maori culture of New Zealand, juridical approach in France, responsibility in Confucian thinking in China, individualism in the face of collective duty in the United States, duty and responsibility on the shores of the Congo, responsibility in Arab Islamic culture, encountering the sense of responsibility in Germany... This book thus presents an intercultural vision of responsibility that is all the more interesting because the final texts are the outcome of an intense dialogue between the authors. This exchange enhanced a more explicit expression of their respective points of view, thus making these more accessible to people from other cultural backgrounds.