personal autonomy
Self-directed life choices
Personal autonomy is the capacity to govern one's own life—making decisions about one's body, beliefs, relationships, and actions free from external control.
The concept appears in ethics, law, and medicine, where respecting a patient's autonomy means honoring their informed choices about treatment: The hospital's policy emphasizes personal autonomy in end-of-life decisions.
Personal autonomy doesn't mean freedom from all influence, but rather the ability to reflect on influences and act according to one's own values.
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- individualismDoctrine of personal independence
- free willAutonomous choice capacity
- self-governanceIndependent management of affairs
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
self-ownership · own two feet · volition · independence · self-awareness · moral agency · self-regulation · privacy · setting boundaries · consent · informed consent · career planning · personal responsibility · lifestyle choices · decision-making · reproductive rights · civil liberties · self-rule
- rightscivil liberties, constitutional rights, right, rights, human rights
- disabilitydisability rights, disability culture, disability activism, disability services, disability identity
- personal rightspersonal rights, privacy, reputation, human dignity, right to privacy
- dignity and respecthuman dignity, self-worth, respect, mutual respect, self-respect
- women's rightssuffrage movement, women's suffrage, women's rights, gender equality, feminism
- East GermanyStasi, GDR, DDR, Berlin Wall, East Germany
personal autonomysubjugation
Forcing into submission
domination · coercion · authoritarianism · paternalism · oppression
personal autonomycaptivity
State of being confined
imprisonment · bondage · enslavement · servitude · coercive control
personal autonomydependency
State of needing support
dependence · reliance · subordination · guardianship · wardship