Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Liberation from self
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Freedom and autonomy
- 3 Freedom of action
- 4 Agent freedom
- 5 Values and the self
- 6 Autonomy and rationality
- 7 Rationality, values, and integrity
- 8 The liberation theory of autonomy: Objectivity
- 9 The liberation theory of autonomy: The place of self
- 10 The value of autonomy
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
10 - The value of autonomy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Liberation from self
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Freedom and autonomy
- 3 Freedom of action
- 4 Agent freedom
- 5 Values and the self
- 6 Autonomy and rationality
- 7 Rationality, values, and integrity
- 8 The liberation theory of autonomy: Objectivity
- 9 The liberation theory of autonomy: The place of self
- 10 The value of autonomy
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Most people believe they have a right to be autonomous, at least in many domains. The value of autonomy may then be construed as the value of conferring or possessing this right – the right to be a certain way and the right not to be interfered with as one cultivates this state – and that depends on the precise nature and scope of this right. The right will not be of much value to a person who finds that he only has a right to exercise autonomy over matters of little moment to him. I do not propose to address the scope of this right for such a discussion would have to rest on a general theory of rights I am not in a position to offer.
Instead, I wish rather to seek to know the value of that state, autonomy, to which one may or may not have a limited or unlimited right. Here, again, the question may be divided. For one may wish to know the value of making a decision autonomously rather than heteronomously, regardless of the specific content of the decision. Or one may want to know the value of incorporating a particular domain into the scope of one's autonomy.
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- Information
- Liberation from SelfA Theory of Personal Autonomy, pp. 239 - 249Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1995