ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the justifiability of restricting an individual's autonomy to prevent his or her adversely affecting his own interests. To support weak, while opposing strong, paternalism is untenable in view of the fact that strong paternalism is sometimes needed to preserve autonomy. Weak paternalism involves interference with a person's autonomy where there is a defect in the decision-making capacities of the person interfered with. If a person forgoes his dispositional autonomy by contracting voluntarily into permanent slavery and is judged to be harmed in consequence, intervention to stop the enforcement of the contract is strongly paternalistic. The central point remains, that those who value autonomy highly must also accept strong paternalism — whatever else may be said regarding the relationship between the latter and the enforcement of morality. The strong paternalism supportive of autonomy seeks to protect an individual from harming his or her own interests, especially as these are reflected in his life-plan.