Tags
baby, Experience, free will, life, musings, Self-control, thoughts
We think of babies as innocent. I guess by that we mean that they are not responsible for their actions. Fair enough. Babies seem utterly selfish to me: they’re only interested in their own needs and cry if they are not fulfilled. They’re not interested in how they’re provided for, the cost, the time or energy invested. Of course, they can’t be expected to understand such things, so again, fair enough.
Parents, teachers and others, society, teach and nurture each baby; teach them right from wrong and the ways of the world. By this process, the baby grows to adulthood and is expected to take responsibility for his/her actions. We no longer regard him/her as innocent per se. He/she may be accused, brought to task and punished for transgression.
I don’t want to get embroiled in a nature versus nurture argument. A baby is not responsible for either his/her nature or his/her nurture. So once he/she grows to adulthood, what can he/she be reasonably asked to accept responsibility for? Behaviour is the result of nurture on nature. Who is responsible for behaviour? Why is an adult any more or less innocent than a baby?
