Week 2-Freedom and Autonomy

Liberalism and its

Limits

Prof. Joseph Chan

Week 2:

Freedom and Autonomy

1

Main objectives of this lecture

■ To discuss

1. The meaning of freedom

2. The value of freedom

3. The differences between freedom and autonomy

4. What duties a government needs to fulfill to promote personal autonomy

Readings

■ Read:

□ Joseph Raz, The Morality of Freedom, Ch.14, from which my account of personal autonomy is drawn.

□ Also the very useful discussion of the nature and value of autonomy by Steven Wall, who develops Raz’s theory. Wall, Liberalism, Perfectionism and Restraint, Ch. 6.

□ Also the required reading of tutorial topic 1 by Gerald Dworkin.

1. The meaning of freedom

■ Liberalism and liberty or freedom

■ What is freedom?

■ Consider some examples: the freedom of speech

1. The meaning of freedom

■ One initial suggestion: Freedom can be defined as “absence of interference with my actions or desires by others” .

no one interferes you; options? Only one option revealed, is it freedom?

■ What does it (not) imply?

□ Constraints from nature do count

■ Is it a good definition?

1.1 Freedom as “absence of

interference with my actions or desires by others”

■ Example 1: A voter is forced to vote for someone whom she plans to vote for anyway.

Harmed. Future and potential desires are suppressed.

■ Example 2: A citizen suppresses his desire to criticize his authoritarian government.

(different with authoritative) why he does so? Will there be penalties after his voicing opinion?

■ Are they free?

=> Time ?

1.2 Freedom as

“non-restriction of options”

■ A better definition: freedom as “non-

restrictions of options” (by other human beings).

■ Options are opportunities, including the opportunities to change one’s present desire/choice.

1.2 Freedom as

“non-restriction of options”

■ Freedom, understood in this way, cannot be unlimited.

■ For liberals, the only harm principal

□ Freedom cannot be used to harm others

□ People should have equal freedom

2. The value of freedom:

3 possibilities

Instrumental Value

Value of Freedom

Constitutive Value

Intrinsic Value

2.1 The value of freedom:

Instrumental value

■ Instrumental value of freedom: as a means to an end

A is instrumental to B. B is the true goal.

■ Example:

□ Freedom to buy foreign goods without tariff

□ Freedom of speech

Freedom to write a book.

2.2 The value of freedom:

Constitutive value

■ Constitutive value of freedom: Freedom is

valuable as it forms a necessary or integral part of some larger thing which has value.

■ Example:

□ Friendship No trading. No buying. Voluntary. What’s the motivation.

□ Religious prayer Not committed in mind.

2.3 The value of freedom:

Intrinsic value

■ Intrinsic value of freedom: freedom is valuable because it is desirable for its own sake.

■ Example:

□ what clothes to wear.

□ marriage

Something in itself you may not care or your decision may be wrong, still defense your rights of free choice.

■ The idea of self-determination and personal autonomy

3. From the intrinsic value of

freedom to autonomy

■ The intrinsic value of freedom: the idea of personal autonomy or self-determination.

■ Autonomy: one should make his own life, to be the author of his life.

■ There are three main differences between the

concept of freedom, understood as non-restriction of options, and the concept of autonomy.

3.1 Autonomy and freedom:

The first difference

■ Autonomy concerns the way a person makes decisions.

■ Autonomy can explain correctly why the following is wrong, while freedom cannot:

□ Coercion

□ Manipulation

□ Indoctrination

■ Autonomy: global, not local concern

3.1 Autonomy and freedom:

The first difference

■ What is bad about coercion: not only the loss of an option (which may be trivial), but that it

subjects the will of one person to that of another.

Not about the results, but the process. Self-autonomy.

■ What is bad about manipulation: not only the

loss of the option of knowing important piece of information, but that it perverts the way a person reaches decision.

3.1 Autonomy and freedom:

The first difference

■ Indoctrination is bad because it is a form of invasion of autonomy.

Fundamentally destroys.

■ socialization=Indoctrination?

■ Is personal autonomy compatible with socialization?

□ Read the tutorial’s readings for the first two sessions

3.2 Autonomy and freedom:

The second difference

■ Autonomy concerns the quality of options.

■ Who is more autonomous?

□ A has the option to choose his career.

□ B has the option to travel in an obscure island.

3.2 Autonomy and freedom:

The second difference

■ Why some freedoms (e.g. freedom of

speech/religion/association) are more important than others (e.g. freedom of eating ice-cream)?

■ Autonomy concerns whether the options are important to one’s pervasive goals, projects or relationship.

About the whole life, not just a point

3.2 Autonomy and freedom:

The second difference (Cont’d)

■ Some options are trivial, the restriction of which would not affect one’s autonomy.

■ Some options are more crucial to the exercise of autonomy than others:

□ Options that express one’s conception of how one wants to lead his or her life

Mistakes of choosing wrong values? Is there universal values?

3.3 Autonomy and freedom:

The third difference

■ Autonomy concerns one’s inner capacities (rational and emotional capacities) .

■ Internal obstacles to personal autonomy:

□ the lack of minimal rational capacity to evaluate options and make choices serious mental disability, too young.

Positive/negative freedom (free from others and free from

internal obstacles -> give excuse to government?) in cold war)

□ serious weakness of will

□ self-deception

□ mindless imitation of others

□ long-term serious emotional instability

A question

■ Are you autonomous? Do you lead an autonomous life?

How do you acquire your values?

3.4 Conditions of autonomy

■ A person’s life is autonomous if and only if

□ she is not prevented from pursuing her own plans of life;

□ she has an adequate range of options for her to choose from and to plan her life;

□ she possesses appropriate mental capacities so that she is able to have control over herself; and

□ she actually makes use of her capacities to

choose what life to have. Make use! Exercise.

□ See Joseph Raz, The Morality of Freedom , Ch.14.

3.5 What counts as

“an adequate range of options”?

■ Includes

□ Options with long term pervasive

consequences;

□ Short term options of little consequence; and

□ A fair spread in between.

3.5 What counts as

“an adequate range of options”?

■ Depends on the variety (not merely numbers) of options available.

■ For most of the time our choices should not be dominated by the need to protect the life one has.

Must exercise

4.2 Government’s duties

■ It has to do goes far beyond the negative duties of non-interference.

■ The government has the positive duties to

□ Create an adequate range of options

available for people to choose from; and

□ help them develop capacities essential to the functioning of autonomy.

4.1 Promoting personal autonomy

■ Recall that autonomy requires an adequate

range of option; it does not merely require non- intervention.

■ The distinction between

□ the availability of options; and

□ non-restriction of options

4.3 How can a government

promote personal autonomy?

■ How can a government fulfill these positive duties?

□ Education

□ Toleration

□ Prevention of manipulation and indoctrination

The media should also prevent this. Ads?

■ Enemies of autonomy may come from civil society as well as government

The End

■ You must read:

□ Joseph Raz, The Morality of Freedom, Ch.14, from which my account of personal autonomy is drawn.

□ Also the very useful discussion of the nature and value of autonomy by Steven Wall, who develops Raz’s theory. Wall, Liberalism, Perfectionism and Restraint, Ch. 6.

□ Also the required readings of tutorial topic 1, especially the article by Gerald Dworkin.