Autonomy of the Will [4:439-441] & [4:446-448]
What is the relationship between autonomy and action?
Autonomy is the idea that each person is free and self-governing. Each person being autonomous can decide their actions for themselves but do not reflect others, "Her actions then express her own will and not the will of someone or something else." (Sep, Johnson 2008)
Having the autonomy to choose the action may prevent someone from committing an action that is against the moral law we have a duty towards, " or one thing, as with the Jim Crow laws of the old South and the Nuremberg laws of Nazi Germany, the laws to which these types of ‘actions from duty’ conform may be morally despicable. Respect for such laws could hardly be thought valuable."
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Autonomy also functions to produce results that stem from this idea of self-governance. Each person would be self-governing and live by their own moral laws which would lead to moral actions and because they have this freedom to choose their actions, they will be able to reflect or decide whether or not to do it.
Relation to persons as agents:
Each person is an agent of rational thought
Because they capable of rational thought, they are also capable of acting morally
This means one 's will ought to be respected just as much as another 's (4:438-4:39_
What is the law of the autonomy of the will?
Exact formulation: “the Idea of the will of every rational being as a will that legislates universal law.” (4:432)
What does it mean?
Every person/thing that has the ability to act and think rationally should use their judgment to govern themselves and how they act with each other (4:439)
If every rational being acts rationally (morally) they ought to not interfere with another 's autonomy of will
Rational beings have the ability to cause unique events or interactions through the actions of free will.
Autonomy & Freedom [4:446-448]
How is the concept of Freedom key to explaining the role of autonomy in Kant 's theory?
Kant argues that heteronomy (a military state, lack of democracy) is immoral because people are not following rational will (SEP,