Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Autonomy: Autonomy refers to the ability of individuals, organizations, or entities to self-govern, make independent decisions, and act based on their own principles or rules without external control or influence. See also Individuals, Organizations, Institutions, Nations, Politics._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Gerald F. Gaus on Autonomy - Dictionary of Arguments
Gaus I 103 Autonomy/Gaus: The mass of society, according to Mill(1), is a ‘collective mediocrity’: they tend to conform and are not interested in new ideas. >Individuals/Mill, >Perfectionism/Gaus. Paternalism: (...) following from this, such perfectionist theories raise the spectre of widespread paternalism. Although Mill argued for a strongly anti-paternalistic morality, it seems that the ideal is so specific and demanding as to open the gates to interferences with liberty, seeking to prod the mediocre mass towards a richer personality. It also becomes less than obvious why they should be granted liberty equal to that of the perfecting elite. VsVs: Many have argued that a defence of freedom based on personal autonomy is not subject to these objections (...). Joseph Raz: According to Joseph Raz, whereas Mill’s ideal of ‘[s]elf-realization consists in the development to their fullest extent of all, or all the valuable capacities a person possesses … [t]he autonomous person is one who makes his own life and he may choose the path of self-realization or reject it’ (1986(2): 325). The basic thought is that, according to the ideal of autonomy, it is not crucial that a person decides to develop her capacities, but that she decides whether to develop her capacities and, more generally, how to live her life. Varieties of autonomy: The ideal of personal autonomy fractures into a variety of more specific doctrines (Lindley, 1986(3)). Personal autonomy has been understood in terms of project pursuit, self-rule, self-creation and critical reflection on one’s projects and values, or consistency between first- and second-order volitions (on this last, see Gill, 2001(4): 20ff ). Steven Wall: According to Steven Wall, for example, ‘autonomous people need (a) the capacity to choose projects and sustain commitments, (b) the independence necessary to chart their own course though life and to develop their own understanding of what is valuable and worth doing, (c) the self-consciousness and vigor to take control of their affairs’ (1998(5): 132; see also Raz, 1986(2)). >Autonomy/Dworkin, Gerald, >Autonomy/Young, Robert. Gaus I 104 Young, Robert: An autonomous person employs her critical faculties to evaluate and choose her aims and projects in such a way that they are truly hers, rather than simply imposed by, or unreflectively taken over from, others.(6) Gaus: This conception of autonomy is thus a much more open-ended, and so less controversial, ideal than the ideals of either self-realization or project pursuit. Autonomy does not tell us what to choose; it only insists on the value of a chosen life. The worry, though, is that nobody really creates himself. Our personalities and choices are deeply influenced by our natural talents and propensities, our culture and our upbringing. What options we consider attractive are strongly affected by our upbringing and culture. >Autonomy/Mill, >Autonomy/Benn, >Autonomy/Young. 1. Mill, John Stuart (1963a) On Liberty. In J. M. Robson, ed., The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, vol. XVIII, 213–301. 2. Raz, Joseph (1986) The Morality of Freedom. Oxford: Clarendon. 3. Lindley, Richard (1986) Autonomy. London: Macmillan. 4. Gill, Emily R. (2001) Becoming Free: Autonomy and Diversity in the Liberal State. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press. 5. Wall, Steven (1998) Liberalism, Perfectionism and Restraint. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 6. Young, Robert (1986) Personal Autonomy: Beyond Negative and Positive Freedom. London: Croom-Helm. Gaus, Gerald F. 2004. „The Diversity of Comprehensive Liberalisms.“ In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Gaus I Gerald F. Gaus Chandran Kukathas Handbook of Political Theory London 2004 |
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