Defines Autonomy Maintaining Social Health

Autonomy
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Autonomy
Varellius (2006) defines autonomy as people having the freedom to choose how to live without external constraints and limitation. Handen, Rodriguez, Knee, and Porter further describe autonomy from Kant's perspective as the ability to follow the inner voice without listening to what the outer voice says. In either case, autonomy means that a person does not have to submit to external forces or pressure. Autonomous people are free to act in a manner they wish without consulting or listening to others. There are cases, however, when autonomy is threatened. We cannot always express this sense of freedom of acting the way we want. This happens especially when we are in relationships or when we are near those we love. It also happens when we feel that we need to care for someone who may be less advantaged or in a situation that needs our attention.
I have suppressed my sense of autonomy in many instances, primarily when I was around people above my age or those that are in urgent need. In January this year, I visited my uncle that had been involved in an accident. It was an afternoon, and I had an appointment with a friend who had requested that I accompany him to a graduation ceremony of his girlfriend. Two competing situations needed my attention. In such circumstances, autonomy requires that I choose one of the options without consulting either of the two. I felt that I had to ask my friend and inform him that I could not accompany him. In this sense, I was voluntarily suppressing my autonomy even when I felt that I had the freedom to choose what was right. I have also felt that when I am around my teachers or my mother, I lose control over my decisions. This happens automatically since I think that she has some power over me and she deserves my respect.
I have also come across people that give others a sense of empowerment. Oladipo (n.d.) defines empowerment as the process of giving another person the power to do or to act in a given manner. The primary difference between...