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Personale Autonomie als praktische Autorität

Seidel, Christian

In: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie, 2011, vol. 59, no. 6, p. 897-915

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    Title
    • Personale Autonomie als praktische Autorität
    Author
    • Seidel, Christian. 1 Universität Zürich, Ethik-Zentrum, Zürich, Schweiz
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • German
    Published in
    • Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie, 2011, vol. 59, no. 6, p. 897-915. Akademie Verlag GmbH
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:303631
    Summary
    Autonomy and authority are often regarded as opposites. In this paper, I argue that autonomy should be conceived of as a specific form of (practical) authority and that this perspective is useful for identifying the conditions of personal autonomy. I will first highlight some structural analogies in the functioning of the concepts "autonomy” and "authority” and explain the resulting constraints on accounts of personal autonomy. I will then show that the problems of certain internalist and externalist accounts of autonomy are rooted in a false understanding of the foundation on which the authority that is characteristic of autonomy rests. To conclude, I present an account in which this foundation is given by a person's maturity (Mündigkeit), defensiveness (Wehrhaftigkeit) and participation (Mitsprache): Thus, a person is autonomous to the extent that she can cope with her own affairs, can defend herself against external encroachments and can participate in common affairs