Are We Responsible For Our Actions When We Are Drunk?

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Recommended: What is the influence of alcohol on the brain and behaviour

Elibeth Diaz

PHI 100 SEC 001

Professor Andrés Colapinto

December 15th, 2014

Paper #2: Be the Philosopher!

Are we responsible for our actions when we are drunk?

Today, we live in a society that is used to deny and rationalize the responsibility of our actions instead of assuming that everyone is responsible for their feelings, thoughts and actions. It’s has often been questioned, whether we are responsible or not for our actions done under the alcohol influence. Having responsibility is an obligation to act, is accepting the actions you have taken and the results they have led to. There is a reason to believe that we are not responsible for our actions, that is because of when alcohol reaches the brain , causes many changes in our …show more content…

There is too much stimulus in that can shape our actions

Some might say mo, we are not responsible, because when intoxicated, people do not know what they are doing. The brain is the main part of the Central Nervous System and is the responsible organ of making decisions; it processes information gathered through the five sense and also has a part that makes sure that vital life processes, like breathing. The central nervous system is very sensitive, so when alcohol touches the CNS cells, they change, resulting changes in the person’s behavior. Many people are not able to produce 'alcohol dehydrogenase' which is an enzyme on our bodies to break down alcohol. Someone who is not able to produce these enzymes can get easily drunk with just a minimum amount of alcohol. When drunk, a person is totally unconscious of his decisions. Once alcohol is absorbed, dispersed around the body by blood and reaches to the brain, decreases the communication between neurons and the frontal lobes , which help us make decision. In this situation, the brain is completely suppressed by alcohol. The person stops acting from their knowledge and desires. A person …show more content…

A person is responsible for making the decision to drink , or can make the decision to stop before getting drunk. We can't be responsible for things that we do not have control of, but when drinking and getting drunk we chose to be powerless, under the influence without our brain knowledge. For example, drinking and driving, a drunk person crashes into another car. Is this person responsible for the consequences? Totally , because its a series of decisions , he chose to drink, to go past his limits and also to drive under alcohol effects. Not having knowledge of actions when drunk is not an excuse. Not only drunk but, regardless the situation we should be responsible for our actions because they come from our choices and decisions , they only depend on us. We are responsible for all our actions and the outcomes, the good and bad ones , they are caused by something within us. There is no other choice, we are already responsible for what we done. It’s true, we can't be responsible for what we don't have control over, but control comes from our choices. We have responsibility to refrain or prevent ourselves from becoming so drunk that we can no longer control our

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