We've been talking a lot about if someone is responsible for immoral actions that stem from an obedience to a higher authority but I wonder if people would think the same way about a moral action that also stems from a higher authority. For example, most people agree that Eichmann held responsibility for what he did during WWII and that even though his actions were not of his own choosing he still should take the blame for what happened. What about if someone did something good because of this same authority power. Lets say that a man is sentenced to do community service by the courts because of something he did wrong. I think most people would say "oh, he's only doing those good things because he's forced to" but if we use the same logic as we use in Eichmann's case this man should take full responsibility for doing these good actions and therefore be looked at as a moral actor. I'd like to see if other people see the irony in this and what side you agree with.
The other side of responsibility