Autonomy

The Great Norwegian Encyclopedia describes autonomy as follows:

In philosophy, the word autonomy is used to refer to that which results from one's own internal lawfulness, independent of external influence. The term is used especially in moral philosophy and deals with a person's ability to determine their own actions and the basis for their actions. An actor is considered autonomous when the reasons for how the person acts are the person's own reasons.

The opposite of autonomy is heteronomy, which means that the actor's actions are determined by forces that do not belong to the actor himself. These forces can take the form of coercion or manipulation, or of impulses or desires that exist within the actor himself, but with which the actor does not identify.

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