To what extent does autonomy lend itself to having a good life? When faced with the decision of “to do”, or “not to do”, we succumb to the unknown. The unknown can be just as unnerving as it can be exciting. This is the ultimate risk of autonomy. Autonomy hides under a veil of certainty as we often think to ourselves that the best decisions are our own, yet we ignore that for the majority of our early life we’ve made little autonomous decisions and ended up relatively okay. As we grew up, we slowly graduated from these restraints no matter how menial or large, to find ourselves more in control of what we do and how we decide to do it. Of course, this poses lots of risks, but arguably, autonomy is a risk; opening up the uncertainty of what our actions may unfold for us. Our ever-evolving autonomy introduces us to ourselves again; showing us the power to derive a large portion of our own meaning through experiences whether its through tragedy or triumph. Despite this, we must acknowledge, as neo-ontological philosopher Jean Kazez states, that even without total autonomy in our lives, it still plays a vital role in our development of a good life. While some decisions are made for us, our lives are predominantly composed of autonomous decision making coming at us from all directions, and within this is our indomitable will to decide our course of life. We must accept the risks associated with autonomy, as it is truly our only way to foster the curiosity within us, as well as establishing a deeper, more deliberate understanding of our world, which ultimately can be the way to a good life.
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