Autonomy, History, and the Origins of Our Desires

Abstract A popular view among autonomy theorists is that facts about the history of a person's desires, and specifically facts about how they were formed or acquired, matter crucially to her autonomy. I argue that while there is an important relationship between a person's autonomy and the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Valdman, Mikhail (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: 2011
In: Journal of moral philosophy
Year: 2011, Volume: 8, Issue: 3, Pages: 415-434
Further subjects:B ORIGINS
B DESIRES
B MELE
B Autonomy
B History
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Summary:Abstract A popular view among autonomy theorists is that facts about the history of a person's desires, and specifically facts about how they were formed or acquired, matter crucially to her autonomy. I argue that while there is an important relationship between a person's autonomy and the history of her desires, a person's autonomy does not depend on how her desires were formed or acquired. I argue that a desire's autonomy lies not in its origins but in whether its bearer has a history of having engaged with it in the right sort of way. I argue that this view has important advantages, and no obvious disadvantages, over its historical and its non-historical rivals.
ISSN:1745-5243
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of moral philosophy
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/174552411X589026