-
According to Friedman, autonomous behaviour involves personal commitments, as well as self-reflection and ‘reaffirmations’ of those commitments. (Friedman, 2003a, p. 11) This process must involve an agent's “perspectival identity,” which contains traits, desires, preferences, and “features of herself she cares deeply about” (Friedman, 2003a, p. 11) from a first-personal perspective, and not simply characteristics like gender or membership in some racial group which has been attributed to the agent's identity (nonchosen traits are only relevant for autonomy if they matter to the agent).
The last sentence of this passage made me reflect quite a bit while reading. “Nonchosen traits are only relevant for autonomy if they matter to the agent.” Autonomy isn't about which traits are objectively true of you. It's about which traits you've reflected on and molded into your own sense of self. I feel that my generation resonates with this more than most other generations, or at least, expresses such ideas more.
-
Through this process of ongoing reflection, deliberation, and action, a dynamic picture of the authentic self would emerge which reflects the autonomous self.
This resonates with me quite strongly because it challenges the idea that there's a fixed "true self" waiting to be discovered. I used to think of authenticity as something static, like if I just introspected hard enough, I'd find the "real me.” I don't need to have already "found myself" to be living authentically. I just need to be in the process of examining and revising who I am. It also explains why my sense of identity at 16 or 18 feels so different from how it feels now, without either version being the fake or wrong one.
-
Perhaps we can view autonomy less as an “objective metaphysical property of persons,” (Anderson, 2008, p. 21) and more as a type of socially situated status which agents may come to enjoy by virtue of being recognized as autonomous by others.
This idea unsettles me a bit. If autonomy depends partly on being recognized as autonomous by others, then my autonomy isn't entirely in my own hands. It relies on other people seeing me a certain way. This resonates with my belief that most people make their decisions based on how others will view them for that decision. I think I do the same; I will avoid making decisions that make me look bad to others.