Abstract
Recent philosophy has developed an overblown concept of autonomy. In fact we do not have moral autonomy, and personal autonomy we only have in the sense of being able to decide some things that affect the course of our lives, not in the sense of shaping these lives and being master over them; nor ought we to have autonomy in the latter sense, or come closer to having it. As for our political institutions, they do not presuppose, as prevailing doctrines claim they do, citizens’ autonomy in a more demanding sense. Freedom and democracy as understood for instance in the German constitution only assume subordinates capable of deciding some matters on their own. Current talk of autonomy is just gilding people’s real dependence.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
See again the introduction by Christman and Anderson (2005, p. 1).
See for instance Rainer Forst’s conception of moral autonomy in Forst (2005, p. 230).
This paragraph and the following three draw on Bittner (2002, pp. 217–228).
Witness once again Kant (1911, p. 432f).
This is MacIntyre’s suggestion in (1981, chap. 15).
As James Griffin argues in (2008, p. 33 and pp. 152–157).
See for instance Christman (2009, p. 3 and pp. 109–111).
For the distinction invoked here see Christman (2001, p. 187).
See the decisions of the constitutional court BVerfGE 6, 32 (36); 80, 137 (152).
Charles Larmore raises this question in (2008, p. 111).
References
Aristoteles. (1894). In I. Bywater (Ed.), Ethica Nicomachea. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Baumann, P. (2000). Die Autonomie der Person. Paderborn: Mentis.
Beckermann, A. (2008). Gehirn, Ich, Freiheit. Paderborn: Mentis.
Bittner, R. (2002). Autonomy and then. Philosophical Explorations, 5, 217–228.
Böckenförde, E.-W. (2006). Das Bild vom Menschen in der Perspektive der heutigen Rechtsordnung (1985). In Recht, Staat, Freiheit (extended edition). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
Buss, S. (1994). Autonomy reconsidered. Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 19, 95–121.
Christman, J. (2001). Liberalism, autonomy, and self-transformation. Social Theory and Practice, 27, 185–206.
Christman, J. (2009). The politics of persons. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Christman, J., & Anderson, J. (Eds.). (2005). Autonomy and the challenges to liberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
de la Boétie, E. (1981). Discours de la servitude volontaire ou le contr’ un. (1548). Paris: Vrin.
Dreier, H. (1998). Grundgesetz art. 20. In Dreier (Ed.), Grundgesetz. Kommentar (Vol. 2). Tübingen: Mohr.
Forst, R. (2005). Political liberty: Integrating five conceptions of autonomy. In J. Christman & J. Anderson (Eds.), Autonomy and the challenges to liberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Frankfurt, H. (1988). Freedom of the will and the concept of a person. (1971). In H. Frankfurt (Ed.), The importance of what we care about. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Griffin J. (2008). On human rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hill. T. (1989). The Kantian conception of autonomy. In J. Christman (Ed.), The inner citadel. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hill, T. (1991). Autonomy and benevolent lies. (1984). In Th. Hill (Ed.), Autonomy and self-respect. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, I. (1911). Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten. (1785). In Königlich preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Ed.), Kant’s Werke (Vol. 4). Berlin: Reimer.
Kant, I. (1923). Zum ewigen Frieden. (1795). In Königlich preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Ed.), Kant’s Werke (Vol. 8). Berlin: de Gruyter.
Larmore, Ch. (2008). The autonomy of morality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Liddell, H. G., & Scott, R. (1968). A Greek-English lexicon: With a supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press Oxford.
MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
Mele, A. (1995). Autonomous agents. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Miller, S. (2010). The moral foundations of social institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nehamas, A. (1985). Nietzsche: Life as literature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Raz, J. (1986). The morality of freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Taylor, C. (1985). Atomism. (1979). In C. Taylor (Ed.), Philosophy and the human sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thucydides. (1874). In I. M. Stahl (Ed.), Historia belli peloponnesiaci (Vol. 2). Leipzig: Tauchnitz.
von Humboldt, W. (1980). Ideen zu einem Versuch, die Grenzen der Wirksamkeit des Staats zu bestimmen. (1792). In A. Flitner & K. Giel (Eds.), Humboldt, Werke (Vol. 1, 3rd edn.). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
Waldron, J. (2005). Moral autonomy and personal autonomy. In J. Christman & J. Anderson (Eds.), Autonomy and the challenges to liberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bittner, R. Autonomy Modest. Erkenn 79 (Suppl 7), 1329–1339 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-013-9555-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-013-9555-z