Autonomy: Volume 20, Part 2

Ellen Frankel Paul editor Jeffrey Paul editor Fred D Miller, Jr editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:30th Jun '03

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Autonomy: Volume 20, Part 2 cover

This volume examines autonomy and the role it plays in philosophy, as well as public policy.

Autonomy is often recognized as a central value in moral and political philosophy, but there are fundamental disagreements over how autonomy should be understood, what it implies for public policy and even whether the concept itself is theoretically defensible.A central idea in moral and political philosophy, 'autonomy' is generally understood as some form of self-governance or self-direction. Certain Stoics, modern philosophers such as Spinoza, and most importantly, Immanuel Kant, are among the great philosophers who have offered important insights on the concept. Some theorists analyze autonomy in terms of the self being moved by its higher-order desires. Others argue that autonomy must be understood in terms of acting from reason or from a sense of moral duty independent of the passions. Autonomy seems closely related to the notion of freedom, but in what sense: freedom from coercion, freedom from psychological constraints, or freedom from material necessity? Various approaches to these and similar questions yield different implications for public policy. Is capitalism, social democracy or socialism more favorable to autonomy? The essays in this volume address these important questions.

'this book brings together an impressive array of academic expertise whose contributions cover historical, ethical, political and even psychological perspectives of the concept and its application.' The Philosophical Quarterly

ISBN: 9780521534994

Dimensions: 228mm x 153mm x 20mm

Weight: 486g

360 pages