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4 - Trust, Autonomy and the Fiduciary Relationship

from Part I - Personal Trust and Fiduciary Relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2020

By
Carolyn McLeod  and
Emma Ryman
Edited by
Paul B. Miller  and
Matthew Harding
Paul B. Miller
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame, Indiana
Matthew Harding
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
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Summary

Some accounts of the fiduciary relationship place trust and autonomy at odds with one another, so that trusting a fiduciary to act on one’s behalf reduces one’s ability to be autonomous. In this chapter, we critique this view of the fiduciary relationship (particularly bilateral instances of this relationship) using contemporary work on autonomy and ‘relational autonomy’. Theories of relational autonomy emphasize the role that interpersonal trust and social relationships play in supporting or hampering one’s ability to act autonomously. We argue that fiduciary relationships, understood through the lens of relational autonomy, can provide a means of enhancing, rather than diminishing, beneficiaries’ autonomy.

Keywords

trustautonomyrelational autonomyfiduciariesbilateral fiduciary relationshipspaternalismlawyer-client relationshipsdiscretionary power
Type
Chapter
Information
Fiduciaries and Trust
Ethics, Politics, Economics and Law
 , pp. 74 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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