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This thesis is an exploratory study of the experience of personal autonomy. It seeks to answer the question, How is autonomy experienced and how can that experience be conceptualized? The methodology followed is phenomenological. A conceptualization of autonomy is sought using insights from in-depth interviews and from related psychological literature. Five interrelated aspects of autonomy are distinguished and illustrated using excerpts from the interviews, namely, a concern with self-development and personal goals, the capacity for independent decision-making, the capacity to act assertively, the capacity to persist toward personal goals, and an attitude of self-acceptance and self-affirmation. A sense of autonomy is seen to be one aspect of the sense of self, along with the sense of being, and the sense of identity. The use of the terms "selving" and "to selve" is suggested as a simple way of conceptualizing experiences related to the sense of autonomy. |
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