The Social Dimensions of Individual Autonomy

Abstract

This thesis aims to contribute to the ongoing negotiation between the intuition that we are fundamentally social in some ways and the intuition that we should be accorded some level of individual autonomy. In particular, it will be concerned with showing three things. 1) The various types of content-neutral accounts of autonomy are not mutually exclusive but are complementary. Taken together, they present a more comprehensive picture of what individual autonomy involves. 2) I suggest that there are several aspects to autonomy- the individuala??s motivational structure, specific capacities, translating onea??s autonomous commitments into the shaping of onea??s life, and the disposition to exercise autonomy- and discuss the ways in which each is social. 3) I attempt to show why and in what way the individuala??s responsiveness to reasons is related to his autonomy. Bearing in mind how the various aspects of autonomy are social, we will see how socialization can thwart responsiveness to reasons and hence to autonomy.