Autonomy, Evidence-Responsiveness, and the Ethics of Influence

Abstract

This chapter sets out two main insights gleaned from examining how empirical research enriches our understanding of the nature of autonomy. The first insight adds to existing externalist concerns by considering the degree to which people exhibit evidence-responsiveness: how one’s beliefs and values relate to reality. This understudied aspect of the relation between critical reflection and autonomy is complemented by a second insight into the phenomenon of preauthorization: a novel, internalist dimension of the way in which a person’s decision-making is influenced by external factors and actors. This theoretical analysis is then applied to situations in which infringement of autonomy is a concern, such as nudging and persuasive technologies, to draw out its practical implications.