ABSTRACT
Why is personal autonomy so important in many societies? And why is it a challenging conceptual and practical issue? The introduction first deals with the centrality of the language game of autonomy in individualistic societies. It then offers an overview of this category that has been approached in philosophy and sociology. It makes the case for taking autonomy and its paradoxes seriously, which is the hallmark of the book chapters, and discuss what it implies. In the next section, it shows how the upheavals and controversies in practices of building autonomous individuals such as parenting, education, and mental health care are a relevant case for studying the contradictions of autonomy. They indeed see transformations of what it means to be a teacher, a parent, or a caregiver. They allow one to observe the rise of new actors such as coaches. But they also lead to deep changes in expectations resting on the shoulders of pupils and students, children, and care receivers. The introduction finally explains why Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom, and French-speaking countries are close but contrasted areas in which the book's hypotheses can be tested and presents the four-part structure of the book.
