Autonomy Today, and Autonomy Tomorrow, next Wednesday, and for the Rest of Your Life

We'll continue to chip away at the concept of autonomy next week, but for those of you who walked away with unanswered questions, I recommend John Christman's article on autonomy in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy--an excellent online resource for all things philosophical.

Here are some of the passages I found especially relevant to our discussion:

Put most simply, to be autonomous is to be one's own person, to be directed by considerations, desires, conditions, and characteristics that are not simply imposed externally upon one, but are part of what can somehow be considered one's authentic self.

...autonomy can be used to refer both to the global condition (autonomous personhood) and as a more local notion (autonomous relative to a particular trait, range of acts, or aspect of one's life). Addicted smokers for example are autonomous persons in a general sense but (for some) helplessly unable to control their behavior regarding this one activity.

In addition, we must keep separate the idea of basic autonomy, the minimal status of being responsible, independent and able to speak for oneself, from ideal autonomy, an achievement that serves as a goal to which we might aspire and according to which a person is maximally authentic and free of manipulative, self-distorting influences.

Christman's notion of an "authentic self" plays a role similar to Ackerman's deliberate life plans, and to Goldman's preferences and value-orderings. Whichever terminology we choose, there seems to be some gray area between externally imposed choices on the one hand, and "authentic," internally motivated choices on the other. How we draw the line between external and internal sources of action is what's at issue between competing accounts of autonomy.

What does it mean for beliefs, desires, and values to be a part of one's "authentic self"? Can we simply choose, as if by fiat, what constitutes our authentic selves, say, by making a New Year's resolution to maintain a healthy diet? Or is who I really am at least partially determined by unreflectively adopted habits, like my habit of eating at McDonald's? Could my authentic self contain both of these at the same time? Does one of them 'outrank' the other?

I'm don't know. But I look forward to discussing the next article with you next week; Emanuel and Emanuel try to individuate four different models of the doctor/patient relationship by correlating them with four different conceptions of autonomy, so maybe they can help us out. Happy reading, and happy blogging.

UPDATE: You might also want to look at Sarah Buss's article on personal autonomy.