Overview
- First anthology within the philosophical debate on autonomy and the self to focus exclusively on their complex relationship to freedom and normative commitments
- Includes a distinct and instructive confrontation between subjective and intersubjective approaches to personal autonomy
- Addresses neglected issues concerning the impact of constraints of one's freedom on an agent's (autonomous) self
- Most up-to-date critical discussion of the most recent developments in Harry Frankfurt's work on autonomy
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Philosophical Studies Series (PSSP, volume 118)
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Table of contents (14 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Autonomy and Free Will
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Front Matter
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Autonomy, the Self, and the Role of Personal Traits
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Front Matter
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Autonomy and the Self Within Society’s Grip
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This volume addresses the complex interplay between the conditions of an agent’s personal autonomy and the constitution of her self in light of two influential background assumptions: a libertarian thesis according to which it is essential for personal autonomy to be able to choose freely how one’s self is shaped, on the one hand, and a line of thought following especially the seminal work of Harry Frankfurt according to which personal autonomy necessarily rests on an already sufficiently shaped self, on the other hand. Given this conceptual framework, a number of influential aspects within current debate can be addressed in a new and illuminating light: accordingly, the volume’s contributions range from 1) discussing fundamental conceptual interconnections between personal autonomy and freedom of the will, 2) addressing the exact role and understanding of different personal traits, e.g. Frankfurt’s notion of volitional necessities, commitments to norms and ideals, emotions, the phenomenon of weakness of will, and psychocorporeal aspects, 3) and finally taking into account social influences, which are discussed in terms of their ability to buttress, to weaken, or even to serve as necessary preconditions of personal autonomy and the forming of one’s self. The volume thus provides readers with an extensive and most up-to-date discussion of various influential strands of current philosophical debate on the topic. It is of equal interest to all those already engaged in the debate as well as to readers trying to get an up-to-date overview or looking for a textbook to use in courses.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Michael Kühler is private lecturer (“Privatdozent”) and Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Study in Bioethics at the University of Münster, Germany. His areas of specialization include ethics, metaethics, political philosophy and the philosophy of love. He has written a book on moral justification and motivation (Moral und Ethik – Rechtfertigung und Motivation. Ein zweifaches Verständnis von Moralbegründung, Mentis, 2006) and has just finished a second book project on the relation between “ought” and “can” (Sollen ohne Können? Über Sinn und Geltung nicht erfüllbarer Sollensansprüche, Mentis, forthcoming). Currently, he is working on, among other things, the relation between personal autonomy and love.
Nadja Jelinek was Research Fellow at the University of Konstanz, Germany, from 2005-2009. Currently she is about to finish her doctoral thesis, dedicated to a close examination of the relation between normativity and freedom/autonomy in the works of Harry Frankfurt, Charles Taylor and authors following the theory of George Herbert Mead. Her main research interests are, apart from theories of freedom and autonomy, theories of personhood and moral philosophy, especially applied ethics.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Autonomy and the Self
Editors: Michael Kühler, Nadja Jelinek
Series Title: Philosophical Studies Series
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4789-0
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Hardcover ISBN: 978-94-007-4788-3Published: 23 November 2012
Softcover ISBN: 978-94-007-9730-7Published: 14 December 2014
eBook ISBN: 978-94-007-4789-0Published: 28 November 2012
Series ISSN: 0921-8599
Series E-ISSN: 2542-8349
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXXVI, 328
Topics: Philosophy of Mind, Ethics