This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of t... more This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of the editors was to mark this half century not with a retrospective but with a confabulation of futures. Contributors were asked: What will political theory look and sound like in the next century and beyond? What claims might political theorists or their descendants be making in ten, twenty-five, fifty, a hundred years’ time? How might they vindicate those claims in their future contexts? How will the consistent concerns of political theorists evolve into the questions critical for people decades or centuries from now? What new problems will engage the political theorists (or their rough equivalents) of the future? What forms might those take? What follows is one of the many confabulations published in response to these queries.
This chapter elaborates a conception of personal autonomy as individual self-rule. The conception... more This chapter elaborates a conception of personal autonomy as individual self-rule. The conception fits with a more general understanding of autonomy as self-rule, and it is not heavily moralized. Autonomy as self-rule is preferable to alternative conceptualizations such as autonomy as self-governance or autonomy as living under one’s own laws. Personal autonomy is different from individual freedom, and it is not identical to the absence of social control. There are several notable grounds for valuing personal autonomy; this chapter describes them, giving a fuller sense of the significance and attractiveness of autonomy of the personal kind.
This chapter examines the origins of autonomy and outlines the development of autonomy as a value... more This chapter examines the origins of autonomy and outlines the development of autonomy as a value in democratic societies. It is commonly believed that the idea of autonomy was originally restricted to the discourse of interstate relations in ancient Greece. However, early understandings of autonomia were applied to a wide variety of entities, including those of a nonpolitical nature. Individual-level discussion of autonomy emerged prior to the work of Immanuel Kant, furthermore, foreshadowing contemporary theories of personal autonomy and casting new light on the proliferation of autonomy in democracy. Autonomy has burgeoned into a widely endorsed value in free societies, and pejorative connotations of individual autonomy have vanished.
This chapter provides a detailed critique of personal autonomy. It distinguishes several hazards ... more This chapter provides a detailed critique of personal autonomy. It distinguishes several hazards affecting agents who are personally autonomous, moving beyond received understandings and critiques. The chapter explains how personal autonomy offers normatively inadequate boundaries with respect to deliberation, volition, capabilities, and the generation of options, respectively. Included in this chapter is discussion of extreme actions, and of evil, to serve to establish the central points of argumentation. The critique presented here is robust even granting that theories of personal autonomy do not countenance immoral action, much less egregious law-breaking or terrible rights violations, on the part of personally autonomous agents.
It is commonly believed that the idea of autonomy was originally restricted to the discourse of i... more It is commonly believed that the idea of autonomy was originally restricted to the discourse of inter-state relations, even that autonomy 'belongs' to that vocabulary in a historical sense. This article brings both of those notions into question. Early understandings of autonomia were applied to a wide variety of entities, including those of a nonpolitical nature. Individual-level discussion of autonomy emerged in English prior to the work of Immanuel Kant, furthermore, foreshadowing contemporary theories of personal autonomy and casting new light on the development and proliferation of ideas of autonomy in democracy.
This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of t... more This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of the editors was to mark this half century not with a retrospective but with a confabulation of futures. Contributors were asked: What will political theory look and sound like in the next century and beyond? What claims might political theorists or their descendants be making in ten, twenty-five, fifty, a hundred years’ time? How might they vindicate those claims in their future contexts? How will the consistent concerns of political theorists evolve into the questions critical for people decades or centuries from now? What new problems will engage the political theorists (or their rough equivalents) of the future? What forms might those take? What follows is one of the many confabulations published in response to these queries.
Freedom of thought has been lauded in political theory and celebrated in human rights discourse. ... more Freedom of thought has been lauded in political theory and celebrated in human rights discourse. But what kind of freedom is it? I propose that freedom of thought deserves status as a basic liberty, given the significance of thought to human life, the fundamental importance of freedom of thought in establishing and sustaining crucial rights and freedoms, and the value of being able to develop and experience one’s thoughts without undue influence from others.
This chapter expounds the idea of ethical autonomy. Ethical autonomy is personal autonomy modulat... more This chapter expounds the idea of ethical autonomy. Ethical autonomy is personal autonomy modulated by moral character. It is different in kind from personal autonomy. Fusing personal autonomy with moral character alters the autonomous individual’s utilization of her rational and imaginative faculties, her will, her capabilities, and her options. Ethical autonomy is supportive of various kinds of social, political, and religious forms of difference. It is not a comprehensive doctrine. It is suitable for inclusion in educational spheres and it supports citizenship in free societies. Ethical autonomy strengthens reasonable pluralism and the cardinal principles of a liberalism of conscience. It holds special promise for liberalism and democratic life.
... LUCAS A. SWAINE (BA, MA., University of Manitoba; D.Phil., Sussex University) is a doctoral s... more ... LUCAS A. SWAINE (BA, MA., University of Manitoba; D.Phil., Sussex University) is a doctoral student in political science at Brown University. ... wall itself, removed the candlestick, and made His garden a wilderness, as at this day.9 According to Mark DeWolfe Howe, a principal ...
This article considers the difficult question of whether there are any reasons for theocratic rel... more This article considers the difficult question of whether there are any reasons for theocratic religious devotees to affirm liberalism and liberal institutions. Swaine argues not only that there are reasons for theocrats to affirm liberalism, but that theocrats are committed rationally to three normative principles of liberty of conscience, as well. Swaine subsequently discusses three institutional and strategic implications of his arguments. First, he outlines an option of semisovereignty for theocratic communities in liberal democracies, and explains why an appropriate valuation of liberty of conscience may justify a standard of that kind. Second, he addresses the question of permissible government aid for religion and symbolic endorsement of religious groups. Third, Swaine considers innovations and new approaches that could be employed internationally to better display liberal government's affirmation of religiosity, to promote liberty of conscience, and to help improve relat...
This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of t... more This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of the editors was to mark this half century not with a retrospective but with a confabulation of futures. Contributors were asked: What will political theory look and sound like in the next century and beyond? What claims might political theorists or their descendants be making in ten, twenty-five, fifty, a hundred years’ time? How might they vindicate those claims in their future contexts? How will the consistent concerns of political theorists evolve into the questions critical for people decades or centuries from now? What new problems will engage the political theorists (or their rough equivalents) of the future? What forms might those take? What follows is one of the many confabulations published in response to these queries.
This chapter elaborates a conception of personal autonomy as individual self-rule. The conception... more This chapter elaborates a conception of personal autonomy as individual self-rule. The conception fits with a more general understanding of autonomy as self-rule, and it is not heavily moralized. Autonomy as self-rule is preferable to alternative conceptualizations such as autonomy as self-governance or autonomy as living under one’s own laws. Personal autonomy is different from individual freedom, and it is not identical to the absence of social control. There are several notable grounds for valuing personal autonomy; this chapter describes them, giving a fuller sense of the significance and attractiveness of autonomy of the personal kind.
This chapter examines the origins of autonomy and outlines the development of autonomy as a value... more This chapter examines the origins of autonomy and outlines the development of autonomy as a value in democratic societies. It is commonly believed that the idea of autonomy was originally restricted to the discourse of interstate relations in ancient Greece. However, early understandings of autonomia were applied to a wide variety of entities, including those of a nonpolitical nature. Individual-level discussion of autonomy emerged prior to the work of Immanuel Kant, furthermore, foreshadowing contemporary theories of personal autonomy and casting new light on the proliferation of autonomy in democracy. Autonomy has burgeoned into a widely endorsed value in free societies, and pejorative connotations of individual autonomy have vanished.
This chapter provides a detailed critique of personal autonomy. It distinguishes several hazards ... more This chapter provides a detailed critique of personal autonomy. It distinguishes several hazards affecting agents who are personally autonomous, moving beyond received understandings and critiques. The chapter explains how personal autonomy offers normatively inadequate boundaries with respect to deliberation, volition, capabilities, and the generation of options, respectively. Included in this chapter is discussion of extreme actions, and of evil, to serve to establish the central points of argumentation. The critique presented here is robust even granting that theories of personal autonomy do not countenance immoral action, much less egregious law-breaking or terrible rights violations, on the part of personally autonomous agents.
It is commonly believed that the idea of autonomy was originally restricted to the discourse of i... more It is commonly believed that the idea of autonomy was originally restricted to the discourse of inter-state relations, even that autonomy 'belongs' to that vocabulary in a historical sense. This article brings both of those notions into question. Early understandings of autonomia were applied to a wide variety of entities, including those of a nonpolitical nature. Individual-level discussion of autonomy emerged in English prior to the work of Immanuel Kant, furthermore, foreshadowing contemporary theories of personal autonomy and casting new light on the development and proliferation of ideas of autonomy in democracy.
This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of t... more This essay is part of a special issue celebrating 50 years of Political Theory. The ambition of the editors was to mark this half century not with a retrospective but with a confabulation of futures. Contributors were asked: What will political theory look and sound like in the next century and beyond? What claims might political theorists or their descendants be making in ten, twenty-five, fifty, a hundred years’ time? How might they vindicate those claims in their future contexts? How will the consistent concerns of political theorists evolve into the questions critical for people decades or centuries from now? What new problems will engage the political theorists (or their rough equivalents) of the future? What forms might those take? What follows is one of the many confabulations published in response to these queries.
Freedom of thought has been lauded in political theory and celebrated in human rights discourse. ... more Freedom of thought has been lauded in political theory and celebrated in human rights discourse. But what kind of freedom is it? I propose that freedom of thought deserves status as a basic liberty, given the significance of thought to human life, the fundamental importance of freedom of thought in establishing and sustaining crucial rights and freedoms, and the value of being able to develop and experience one’s thoughts without undue influence from others.
This chapter expounds the idea of ethical autonomy. Ethical autonomy is personal autonomy modulat... more This chapter expounds the idea of ethical autonomy. Ethical autonomy is personal autonomy modulated by moral character. It is different in kind from personal autonomy. Fusing personal autonomy with moral character alters the autonomous individual’s utilization of her rational and imaginative faculties, her will, her capabilities, and her options. Ethical autonomy is supportive of various kinds of social, political, and religious forms of difference. It is not a comprehensive doctrine. It is suitable for inclusion in educational spheres and it supports citizenship in free societies. Ethical autonomy strengthens reasonable pluralism and the cardinal principles of a liberalism of conscience. It holds special promise for liberalism and democratic life.
... LUCAS A. SWAINE (BA, MA., University of Manitoba; D.Phil., Sussex University) is a doctoral s... more ... LUCAS A. SWAINE (BA, MA., University of Manitoba; D.Phil., Sussex University) is a doctoral student in political science at Brown University. ... wall itself, removed the candlestick, and made His garden a wilderness, as at this day.9 According to Mark DeWolfe Howe, a principal ...
This article considers the difficult question of whether there are any reasons for theocratic rel... more This article considers the difficult question of whether there are any reasons for theocratic religious devotees to affirm liberalism and liberal institutions. Swaine argues not only that there are reasons for theocrats to affirm liberalism, but that theocrats are committed rationally to three normative principles of liberty of conscience, as well. Swaine subsequently discusses three institutional and strategic implications of his arguments. First, he outlines an option of semisovereignty for theocratic communities in liberal democracies, and explains why an appropriate valuation of liberty of conscience may justify a standard of that kind. Second, he addresses the question of permissible government aid for religion and symbolic endorsement of religious groups. Third, Swaine considers innovations and new approaches that could be employed internationally to better display liberal government's affirmation of religiosity, to promote liberty of conscience, and to help improve relat...
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