Autonomy

For other uses, see Autonomy (disambiguation).

Autonomy (Greek: Auto-Nomos - nomos meaning "law": one who gives oneself his own law) means freedom from external authority. Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, psychology and theology. Within these contexts it refers to the capacity of a rational individual to make informed, uncoerced decisions. In moral and political philosophy, autonomy is often used as the basis for determining moral responsibility for one's actions. Basic autonomy implies that any adult who is not politically oppressed or restricted, and who is not physically impaired in a way that interferes with his independence, is capable of making informed decisions. An ideal state of autonomy, involving not only material independence and complete physical and political freedom, but freedom from psychological influences and a total intellectual understanding of truth, is a goal which few, if any humans, achieve.

One of best known philosophical theories of autonomy was developed by Immanuel Kant, who defined it as the capacity of a person to freely assess and endorse or reject moral principles in accordance with his own will. Subsequent philosophers developed a more radical concept of autonomy as the freedom to choose one’s own moral principles. The modern field of applied ethics has necessitated more precise criteria for defining autonomy in educational, legal and medical contexts. In medicine, respect for the autonomy of patients is considered obligatory for doctors and other health-care professionals.

Political Self-Government

The ancient Greeks used the word “autonomy” to refer to the independent self-governance of city-states. In a political context, a state has autonomy if its government has complete control over its affairs, without the intervention of or control by any other power. The political concept of autonomy was used to counter the authoritarianism of larger and more powerful conquering states, and was considered a condition for the satisfaction of the national pride of the citizens of a particular city or nation. Autonomy is an essential aspect of nationalism, which seeks to establish the independence of a national group based on language, political history and cultural heritage.

Religion

In religion, the term “autonomy” arises in discussions of man’s free will and free agency. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have theories explaining the extent to which man is able to be responsible for his own decisions and actions in the context of God’s omniscience and omnipotence. Theories of “mechanism” or “determinism” allow for little, if any autonomy. Some doctrines assert that man has autonomy but that an omniscient God foresees in which way man will choose to act. Theologians such as Pelagius and Erasmus declared that man shapes his own destiny through the choices and decisions he makes. Theories of grace, such as those promoted by Augustine and Martin Luther, though encouraging men to act with conscience according to their beliefs, made God alone responsible for salvation. Francisco Suárez and Luis de Molina proposed that God does not cause human acts of free will, but brings about the salvation of the elect by giving them grace according to their capacity to receive and benefit from that grace.

Moral Autonomy

Immanuel Kant developed correlative concepts of autonomy and heteronomy in the context of moral law. Autonomy refers to a moral agent’s capacity to freely and rationally adopt moral policies. Kant believed that a person’s moral principles, the internal authority which imposes restrictions on how that person acts, originate in the exercise of reason. We are offered the choice of many possible principles, but we reject all principles which “cannot accord with the will’s own enactment of universal law” (Groundwork, Ch 2). Autonomous moral principles are laws which we, as rational beings, give to ourselves through consciously identifying ourselves with them.

Heteronomous principles are all those which are imposed, or commanded, from without, such as the moral dictates of the state, the society, a religion or a deity. Heteronomy extends to principles and actions which originate from some psychological drive or emotion, such as an addiction, and implies that the agent is passive under some command or compulsion that he does not initiate. According to Kant, moral maturity requires the recognition of autonomy. Self-governance and self-determination require some control over the desires and impulses that motivate action, and that control is imposed through reason.

Kant’s interpretation of autonomy involved the use of reason to discern, accept and enact common moral laws. More extreme existentialists and analytical philosophers reworked the concept of autonomy to mean the rational agent’s complete sovereignty over his or her choice of moral values. These concepts of autonomy raise a number of problems, including the definition of what constitutes a moral principle, the extent to which a moral agent is actually capable of enacting his or her choices, and the validity a self-constructed moral system which is completely at odds with society.

Personal Autonomy

Modern thinkers have broadened the concept of autonomy in discussions of applied ethics. In political ethics, the concept of personal autonomy is used in efforts to define certain inalienable political rights, such as personal liberty, freedom of speech, and property ownership, which should be guaranteed to every citizen. Personal autonomy implies that these rights are protected unless a citizen actively forfeits them, either by breaking a law and invoking punishment, or by consciously choosing to give up some of his liberty in exchange for some other advantage. The idea of persons as autonomous agents underlies some liberal theories of justice. Autonomy is considered a necessary condition for political equality. Autonomy is also a barrier to paternalism both in politics and in personal life. Autonomy implies respect for each person’s ability to make decisions about his own life and absorb the consequences.

The promotion of personal autonomy has been identified as one of the principal aims of the philosophy of education. A student is to be provided with access to a wide range of choices and experiences, at the same time as he or she is given the rational tools to evaluate these choices intelligently. Upholding the personal autonomy of a student implies that the student will be allowed to experience the consequences of his choices with minimal interference. Guidance and education will take the form of broadening the student’s awareness and exposing him to additional choices. Protecting the autonomy of a student is believed to encourage active thought and exploration, rather than mere acceptance of knowledge and ideas. A student with autonomy feels more freedom to experiment with new ideas, but must also take responsibility to ensure that his contributions have value.

In medical ethics, patient autonomy refers to a patient’s authority to make informed decisions about his or her medical treatment. The idea of “informed consent” is important to the relationship between medical practitioners and their patients. Out of respect for patient autonomy, the medical expert should provide enough information for the patient to evaluate the personal consequences and possible outcomes of different treatments. A treatment should not be carried out without the consent of the patient. Problems in medical ethics include determining whether a patient who is suffering from illness has the capacity to make rational decisions, and whether autonomy extends to allowing a patient to refuse treatment when such a refusal jeopardizes the patient’s life.

To be autonomous is to be directed by considerations, desires, conditions, and characteristics that are not imposed from without, but are part of what can somehow be considered one's authentic self. It implies a conscious intention to act in a certain way, and to take responsibility for any consequences of those actions. In psychology, the issue is defining what is the “authentic self.” Certain personality disorders, such as adult attention deficit disorder, manifest themselves in behaviors which a person rationally endorses under the influence of the disorder. If the person receives treatment for the disorder, they no longer endorse the same behavior. Efforts to define autonomy in the context of the personality have given rise to two types of conditions required for autonomy: "competency" and "authenticity." The definition of competency includes the capacity for various types of rational thought, self-control, and the absence of self-deception or pathological disorders which affect perception of the self.

"Authenticity" conditions involve the capacity to reflect upon one’s desires and consciously endorse or reject them. Some thinkers distinguish between “first-order” and “second-order” desires. First-order desires arise from impulse and emotion; an autonomous person assesses these first-order desires; endorses, rejects or modifies them in accordance with his will, and then acts on the second-order preferences.

Personal autonomy exists in degrees; basic autonomy is the status of being responsible, independent and able to speak for oneself. Basic autonomy implies that any adult who is not politically oppressed or restricted, and who is not physically impaired in a way that interferes with his independence, is autonomous. An ideal state of autonomy serves as a standard of evaluation but is a goal which few, if any humans, achieve; it would involve not only material independence and complete physical and political freedom, but freedom from psychological influences and a total intellectual understanding of truth.

Autonomy and Freedom

There is a distinction between personal autonomy and personal “freedom.” Freedom implies the ability to act without external or internal restraints, and according to some definitions, includes having sufficient power and resources to realize one’s desires. Autonomy refers to the independence and authenticity of the desires that motivate a person to action. Some thinkers insist that freedom concerns particular actions, while autonomy refers to a person’s state of being.

Uses of the Term “Autonomy”

In computing, an autonomous “peripheral” is a function, such as printer or a drive, that can be used with the computer turned off
Within self-determination theory in psychology, autonomy refers to 'autonomy support versus control', "hypothesizing that autonomy-supportive social contexts tend to facilitate self-determined motivation, healthy development, and optimal functioning."
In mathematical analysis, an autonomous ordinary differential equation is one that is time-independent.
In linguistics, an autonomous language is one which is independent of other languages, for example has a standard, grammar books, dictionaries, literature etc.
In robotics autonomy refers to the ability of a robot to make “decisions,” situate itself, acquire new information and act independently of control by a designer or operator.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Agoston, Vilmos et al. Autonomy Buffalo-Toronto : Matthias Corvinus Pub., 1995. ISBN 188278507X
Dinstein, Yoram. Models of autonomy New Brunswick, N.J. : Transaction Books, 1981 ISBN 0878554351
Fineman, Martha. The autonomy myth : a theory of dependency New York : New Press, 2004. ISBN 1565849760
Lindley, Richard. Autonomy Atlantic Highlands, NJ : Humanities Press International, 1986. ISBN 0391034294
Paul, Ellen Frankel et al. Autonomy Cambridge, England ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 0521534992
Winch, Christopher. Education, autonomy and critical thinking New York : Routledge, 2006. ISBN 0415322375

External links

General Philosophy Sources

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