Autonomy Under Epistemic Limitations

Dr Suzy Killmister (University of Connecticut)

Abstract: Human agents are not omniscient. All of us have false beliefs concerning both the world around us, and our own affective states. Moreover, we have only limited epistemic control: even when we come to know the truth about the world or about ourselves, we can nonetheless find ourselves waylaid by recalcitrant contrary beliefs and attitudes which drive our affective lives and actions in ways that outrun our agency. In this paper I consider the implications of these epistemic limitations for our autonomy, drawing on what I am calling a 'three-dimensional' theory of autonomy.