ABSTRACT
Recent feminist philosophy has engaged in a love-hate relationship with autonomy. In the 1970s, feminists praised the ideal of autonomy and extolled its liberatory potential for women. Some feminists in the 1980s began recommending a relational concept of autonomy, one that treats social relationships and human community as central to the realization of autonomy. The 1990s, accordingly, are witnessing a renewed feminist interest in autonomy, but as relationally conceived. This chapter discusses prominent feminist writings that call for a relational conception of autonomy and that criticize the philosophical mainstream for lacking such an account. It shows that prominent mainstream accounts of autonomy do acknowledge the importance of social relationships, thus tending to converge on this point with the prevalent feminist view. Feminists have explored the resources available to caregivers, especially female caregivers, for realizing their own autonomy.
