Ascriptivism is the view that human beings are to be held responsible for their

social actions In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes a ...

. Ascriptivists hold that to say 'an action was

voluntary Voluntary may refer to: * Voluntary (music) * Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism * Voluntary muscle contraction See also * Voluntary action * Voluntariness, in law and philosophy * Voluntaryism, rejectio ...

on the part of an agent' is not to describe 'the act as caused in a certain way', but to ascribe it to the agent, or to hold the agent responsible for it.

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