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HOW MUCH SHOULD WE VALUE AUTONOMY?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2003

Marina Oshana
Marina Oshana
Affiliation:
Philosophy, Bowling Green State University
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Extract

Autonomy generally is a valued condition for persons in liberal cultures such as the United States. We uphold autonomous agents as the exemplar of persons who, by their judgment and action, authenticate the social and political principles and policies that advance their interests. I will begin by examining the concept of autonomy in Section II of this essay. In Section III, I will explore the idea that autonomy is valued because autonomous agents are persons whose judgment and actions serve to advance their interests in a democratic society. But the focus of this essay is on the phenomenon, which is not implausible in a culture such as that of the United States, of being “blinded” by the ideal of autonomy. What happens if we value autonomy too much?

Type
Research Article
Information
Social Philosophy and Policy , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , July 2003 , pp. 99 - 126
Copyright
© 2003 Social Philosophy and Policy Foundation

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