Having seen that choice is local re-cutting within a relational network, a natural question arises: what becomes of responsibility and accountability if there are no metaphysical agents or hidden powers? Classical intuitions suggest that responsibility requires a free, autonomous actor. Relational ontology shows that this is not the case.
Responsibility as Relational Modulation
In a structured network:
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Some nodes or events significantly alter the landscape of feasible paths.
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These nodes are responsible in the sense that their actualisation materially affects subsequent re-cuttings.
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Responsibility is thus relational and contextual, not a property of a metaphysical agent.
Example: A manager’s decision in a team meeting:
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The decision shifts which options are feasible for others.
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Responsibility is attributed because the decision modulates the cost landscape, not because the manager wields a hidden causal power.
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Accountability follows from this modulation, not from abstract autonomy.
Ethics Without Agents
Relational responsibility reframes ethics:
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Focus on patterns, not souls: Outcomes matter because they structure future possibilities, not because they reflect a “free will.”
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Traceable influence: Responsibility is assigned to nodes whose actualisation significantly alters relational availability.
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Distributed accountability: In complex systems, multiple nodes can share responsibility; no single agent is metaphysically privileged.
Example: Social Coordination
Consider a collaborative project:
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Team members’ actions interact in a web of constraints.
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Each contribution modulates feasible paths for others.
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Responsibility emerges where interventions have significant relational consequences.
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Apparent agency and accountability are simply the patterned structure of influence.
Key Takeaways
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Responsibility is emergent, not metaphysical.
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Agency is narrative, but accountability can be real and relationally grounded.
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Ethics can be fully integrated with relational ontology without smuggling in libertarian freedom or hidden agents.
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