People develop their behavior depending on the way in which they have been

brought up, their environment and the society in which they live. The
behavior of people is determined by external elements, but people have the
liberty of making the choice to behave in a particular manner and they are
solely responsible for their behavior. The external forces do not determine the
behavior of people in a major way as people can take the decision to fight the
external forces and behave in a manner that opposes the forces. Therefore, it
is true to an extent that the behavior of people is influenced by forces that
may not be under their control, but it is highly unjustified to assume that the
concept of 'individual responsibility' is a necessary fiction.

Individual responsibility plays a very important role in determining the

behavior of people. Take for instance the behavior of students. External forces
like the requirement of doing well in one's studies for getting a good job play
a significant role in determining a student's behavior with respect to his
studies. However, it is ultimately the student's individual responsibility that
will determine the exact nature of his behavior. A particular student can
choose not to be influenced by this external force and he may decide not to
devote time to his studies despite the irreversible effects it may have on his
career. On the other hand, there may be a student who chooses to be
influenced by this external force and he puts in his level best in studying for
doing well in his life. Thus, it can be seen that the behavior of students with
respect to their studies is not influenced as much by an external force as
compared to their own individual responsibilities.

It is true that external forces like those pertaining to society, schools, parents,
law etc. determine the behavior of people to a significant extent. People stay
within a set of laid down norms as per the laws that have been enforced.
People of a particular country may be more responsible towards cleanliness
by not throwing garbage on the streets as the laws of their country prohibit
them from behaving in such a manner. When the same people go to another
country where there are no such laws, it is their sense of individual
responsibility that will come into play and they may choose to behave in a
particular manner depending on how responsible they are towards keeping
their environment clean.

There are people who choose to break the laws that have been enforced and
this is evident by the crime rate that exists in almost all societies. What about
the effect of external forces on these people? These people may have no
control over the external forces like law and order, but they have decided not
to let the external forces determine their behavior. Moreover, they have taken
the decision to ignore the responsibilities that they should shoulder and so
they alone are responsible for their conduct. No other force can be held
responsible for their behavior.

A society which chooses not to blame the individuals for their actions can
never thrive. There will be mass disobedience of rules and the framework of
law and order of the society will break down. Therefore, it is essential that
individuals be held responsible for their behavior as they are the ones who
have chosen to behave in that particular manner. In sum, it can be said that
more than external forces, it is the individual's responsibility that determines
his behavior.