ABSTRACT
A major theme in the liberal project of the definition and justification of education has been the selection of autonomy or rational autonomy as an aim. This chapter argues that although there are no a priori grounds for making autonomy a non-trivial educational aim for all societies, there are good grounds for thinking that some form of autonomy has to be an aim of public education in democratic societies. The liberal educational project as it has traditionally been conceived of exclusively as a form of academic education cannot be sustained if autonomy conceived of in a broad sense is a primary educational aim. The chapter argues for a minimal sense of autonomy, which is usually ignored by the advocates of autonomy as an educational aim. A complex society requires a division of labour as well as a set of common knowledge, assumptions and practices. Strong autonomy is a legitimate aim for an individual in a democratic society.
