Autonomy Gaps Joel Anderson in Dialogue

by Anderson, Joel; Brink, Bert van den; Owen, David; Niesen, Peter; Laden, Tony

• ISBN13: 9781780930442
• ISBN10: 1780930445
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2017-02-09
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Individuals in modern societies are frequently overwhelmed by choice, from employers, government agencies, utility providers, doctors and financial services. Joel Anderson argues that there is a tendency to misdiagnose the problem as 'too much complexity' or the 'inherent irrationality' of individuals. He outlines the idea of 'autonomy gaps' as an alternative frame of analysis, referring to the gap between the capacities for choice that are presupposed by various institutions or public policies, and the capacity that individuals actually have to make rational choices.This more dynamic understanding of a key social predicament of modern life requires reconfiguring our understanding of autonomy, clarifying the normative grounds for criticizing autonomy gaps and identifying a range of strategies for closing autonomy gaps or ameliorating their effects. Joel Anderson's new concept of critical social theory is discussed by interlocutors including Jurgen Habermas, Tom Shakepseare, Amy Allen, Peter John, Catriona MacKenzie and John Christman, closing with a response from Anderson.

Author Biography

Joel Anderson is Researcher/Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. He specializes in moral psychology and social theory. He is the co-editor (with John Christman) of Autonomy and the Challenges to Liberalism (2005).

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One: Lead Essay

Autonomy Gaps, Joel Anderson, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Part Two: Responses

Response by John Christman, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Response by Peter John, University College London, UK

Response by Jackie Scully, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Response by Rutger Claassen, University of Leiden, The Netherlands

Response by Amy Allen, Dartmouth College, USA

Response by Mark D. White, City University of New York, USA

Response by Catriona MacKenzie, Macquarie University, Australia

Response by Barry Schwartz, Swarthmore College, USA

Part Three: Reply, Joel Anderson, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Bibliography

Index