filtherton

So not to brag or anything, but I'm pretty good at math/logic and I'm fairly good at remembering obscure information. This means that I take standardized tests well and get really good grades in math classes (and various applied science classes). I applied to and was accepted to two of the best schools in the world for the subject I am interested in. Hmm, maybe there is a bit of bragging going on. Let's all take a moment and bask in the subdued glow of my humility.

I did nothing to earn my talents- they are extension of things I was either born with or acquired during my upbringing, namely intelligence, stubbornness, pragmatism, idealism, a complete disregard for a good night's sleep, etc. I didn't choose to be good at math. My natural abilities aren't the result of hard work and any hard work I have engaged in has been due to largely to my stubbornness, which is itself something I didn't earn.

All of my redeeming qualities can be traced directly back to aspects of my life or personality which I had no control of and deserve no credit for. All of the things I have succeeded at are the result of me being at the right place at the right time with the right state of mind and the right capabilities. I consider myself extremely lucky, I don't really feel like I've really earned anything because I assume that anyone who was in my position who had my particular inadvertently obtained talents and abilities would have done the same things in my place. I made do with what I had, which is all anyone ever really does.

In other words, though I have experienced a fair amount of success, I don't know that I deserve credit for any it because I was just doing what came naturally. Similarly, when I do make mistakes, I don't beat myself up over them because I was just doing what came naturally.

It seems fairly normal to think of the formation of a personality as being the result of a collaboration between nature and nurture. Notice that neither nature or nurture imply effort on the part of the person being characterized.

So I guess my question is: how much credit do individuals deserve for our/their successes and failures?

I think that the answer to this question has significant implications in determining particular aspects of one's political and social philosophies and I am interested to see if my time on the politics board will aid me in predicting responses. For instance, if one is to assume, perhaps rather counterintuitively, that everyone is doing the best that they can with what they have, then one might tend to favor working towards a society that provides a robust safety net so that even people who aren't capable of taking care of themselves aren't left to rot.