ABSTRACT

This chapter will address two objections to the social-relational account of autonomy. The first objection is that the social account is unduly perfectionist. By imposing certain substantive and value-laden constraints upon autonomy, the social account will fail to accommodate the multiplicity of lifestyles central to a liberal society. A second objection follows on the heels of the first. This is that the social-relational account of autonomy incorporates an ideal of what a self-determined life looks like. The result is a diminished account of autonomy, weakened in particular with respect to its traditional role of defining the limits within which a person is protected from paternalistic incursions. These objections are, of course, related and I will address them as such.