Autonomy - Latitude of the Self

Funded by Volkswagen Stiftung

In academic literature and common language, autonomy refers to a central personality trait which is essential for the status of individuals as persons as well as for their membership in social groups. In spite of the important role autonomy plays in the self-image and functioning of Western democracies, social sciences have surprisingly little to say about what it is and how autonomous attitudes might interrelate with behaviour. Furthermore, a considerable number of experimental findings in neuroscience and cognition sciences seem to cast doubt on the human capacity for autonomous action altogether.

The project has a modular design and investigates on several layers of analysis a personality trait and behaviour variable which has not yet been adequately established empirically nor conceptually. Shedding light on the relevance of autonomous personality traits for behaviour will put a fundamental assumption of societal functioning to the test and at the same time deliver important clues for the design of political, social and educational fields of action.

Please find additional information here: www.autonomyproject.de.