Heteronomy refers to action that is influenced by a force outside the individual, in other words the state or condition of being ruled, governed, or under the sway of another, as in a military occupation.
Immanuel Kant, drawing on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, [1] considered such an action nonmoral. [2] [3]
It is the counter/opposite of autonomy.
Philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis contrasted heteronomy with autonomy by noting that while all societies create their own institutions ( laws, traditions and behaviors), autonomous societies are those in which their members are aware of this fact, and explicitly self-institute (αυτο-νομούνται). In contrast, the members of heteronomous societies (hetero = others) attribute their imaginaries to some extra-social authority (e.g., God, the state, ancestors, historical necessity, etc.). [4]
See also
References
- ^ Rousseau, J.J. ([2010] 1754-1762). The Social Contract, A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, and A Discourse on Political Economy. New York: Classic Books International.
- ^ Glossary of Kant's Technical Terms by Stephen Palmquist
- ^ Andrews., Reath (2006). Agency and autonomy in Kant's moral theory. Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0199288823. OCLC 912403176.
- ^ Castoriadis, Cornelius (1986-10-01). "the nature and value of equality translated by david a. curtis". Philosophy & Social Criticism. 11 (4): 373–390. doi: 10.1177/019145378601100404. ISSN 0191-4537.
Further reading
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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