This volume brings together original essays addressing the theoretical foundations of the concept of autonomy, as well as essays investigating the relationship between autonomy and moral responsibility, freedom, political philosophy, and medical ethics. Written by prominent philosophers currently in these areas, the book represents cutting-edge research on the nature and value of autonomy and will be essential reading for a broad range of philosophers as well as psychologists.

Given the centrality of personal autonomy in recent debates on moral philosophy, this collection of 15 new essays helps students build theoretical contexts and sort through the variety of perspectives. Topics including planning agency and autonomous agency, autonomy without free will, the paradox of self-creation, agnostic autonomism, feminism, responsibility and other complexities of autonomy, free agency, freedom without reason, bioethics and diminished life, and liberal legitimacy. Along with being a reader or for classroom supplementary reading, the text and uniformly high quality references with each essay could also serve as a reference.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Given the centrality of personal autonomy in recent debates on moral philosophy, this collection of 15 new essays helps students build theoretical contexts and sort through the variety of perspectives. Topics including planning agency and autonomous agency, autonomy without free will, the paradox of self-creation, agnostic autonomism, feminism, responsibility and other complexities of autonomy, free agency, freedom without reason, bioethics and diminished life, and liberal legitimacy. Along with being a reader or for classroom supplementary reading, the text and uniformly high quality references with each essay could also serve as a reference. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Autonomy has recently become one of the central concepts in contemporary moral philosophy. This is the first volume to bring together original essays that address the theoretical foundations of the concept of autonomy, as well as essays that investigate the relationship between autonomy and moral responsibility.

First volume to bring together original essays addressing the theoretical foundations of concept of autonomy.

James Stacey Taylor is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Louisiana State University.

Introduction James Stacey Taylor; Part I. Theoretical Approaches to Personal Autonomy: 1. Planning agency, autonomous agency Michael Bratman; 2. Autonomy without free will Bernard Berofsky; 3. Autonomy and the paradox of self-creation Robert Noggle; 4. Agnostic autonomism Alfred Mele; 5. Feminist intuitions and the normative substance of autonomy Paul Benson; 6. Autonomy and personal integration Laura Waddell Ekstrom; 7. Responsibility, applied ethics, and complex autonomy theories Normy Arpaly; Part II. Autonomy, Freedom and Moral Responsibility: 8. Autonomy and free agency Marina A. L. Oshana; 9. The relationship between autonomous and morally responsible agency Michael McKenna; 10. Alternative possibilities and personal autonomy Ishtiyaque Haji; 11. Freedom within reason Susan Wolf; Part III. The Expanding Role of Personal Autonomy: 12. Procedural autonomy and liberal legitimacy John Christman; 13. The concept of autonomy in bioethics: an unwarranted fall from grace Thomas May; 14. Who deserves autonomy and whose autonomy deserves respect? Tom L. Beauchamp; 15. Autonomy, diminished life, and the threshold for use R. G. Frey.