1.

AUTONOMY
1.1.
AUTONOMY (autos: something is done by oneself; nomos:
it means rule or law)
-

It means that a person or a community has the ability to make their

own rules, without the imposition of others.
It also means that people are free to choose how to behave.

1.2.
AUTONOMY, FREEDOM AND INTELLIGENCE. (they are linked
qualities)
Only if we have the ability to analyse and compare different situations, we
can choose and make decisions freely.
People usually evaluate situations before making a final decision.
1.3.
HETERONOMY (hetero:something is done by other):
- Is the opposite of autonomy.
- It means that is other people who impose rules on us.
- It also means that other people make decisions for us.
**We are heteronomous (not autonomous) when we make decisions on
the spur of (sin pararse a pensar) the moment, or we do what other people
tell us to do, then
a) We make the wrong decision, or
b) We do something we are not really sure of or
c) We do something against our principles.
1.4

AUTONOMY AND POSSIBILITIES

-Being autonomous means to stick to our decision, to be sensible and to do

what we know it is the right thing, although it can mean to give up
(renounce/ sacrifice) things we like sometimes.
-Unlike animals that are mostly determined by instincts, we have to create
ourselves, we have to decide what we want to be and then choose the right
options to get this aim.
-Only when we are autonomous, we can be happy. Even if we make
mistakes, we can learn from them and do the right thing next time.

2. WE LIVE IN SOCIETY
-The human being is a social being. He needs to live with others.

-Unlike other animals, we need to remain (stay) close (near) to our parents
to be looked after by them longer than other animals. We dont leave our
home until we become independent grown-ups.
-Animals follow their natural instinct. On the contrary, human beings need to
learn almost everything:
a) Our intelligence and will (voluntad) are built up throughout
years.
b) We have to learn to feed ourselves, to get dressed, to speak, to
think to interact with other men and women.
c) We have to learn to be free, to be able to be ourselves.
But we can only learn all these things if we are in contact with other people,
if we live in society.

2.1.
HUMAN/ PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: are the ways in which
people are involved with each other.
a)

Harmonius relationships: you feel accepted and supported

(apoyados) by other people.
b)
Troubled relationships: confrontation and problems appear
easily and quite often.
There are two kinds of troubled relationships:
-

Relationships in which people compete against each

other. These relations are when two or more people try to
achieve (reach/lograr) the same scope (aim) following the
same rules (a race or a job)
Conflict relationships: there arent rules, or if there are, they
are violated and the aim is to damage. (war, murder...)

2.2.
SOCIALIZATION is the process by which we learn the ways of
life and/or the culture of the group.
2.3.
THE SOCIALIZING AGENTS (agents of socialization) are
institutions and entities that have a great influence on individuals as
they provide (offer) intellectual and social experiences which guide
their personal conduct and moral standards (principles) .They enable
(permit) integration of people in the society where they live.
They are important because they pass on (transmit) to individuals the
culture of our society.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)

Family
Schools and universities
Work places
Friends and gangs (cuadrilla)
Religions
Political parties
Trade unions (sindicatos)

h) Mass media (medios de comunicacin)

Today, mass media have become the most influential socializing agent.

3. DARE TO BE FREE (atreverse a ser libre)

-In the past, society was ruled by the dominant class and the official religion.
Historically, some tyrants or dictators tried to stop every expression of
freedom and autonomy.
-But even in todays democracies, that are tolerant and respect pluralism,
there are many institutions that try to manipulate and control peoples will,
sometimes using the power of mass media
-Today it is very easy to follow what mass media show us or to do what
everyone does. It is difficult to be autonomous.
-We should try to think by ourselves to get what we actually (realmente)
want. In short, autonomy is the only way to get our happiness.

4. OPEN SOCIETY AND CLOSED SOCIETY

Personal Autonomy can be backed (depende) by the society where we live.
a.) CLOSED SOCIETY. It is the society where human beings cannot
behave (comportarse) in an autonomous way because freedom is
restricted.
-

The decisions made by the owners of power are imposed

without restrictions. It is a society that works FROM THE TOP
TO THE BOTTOM. They are not elected.
The OWNERS OF POWER (State, government and dominant
class) tend to invade the sphere of THE CIVIL SOCIETY (the
people), trying to limit their initiatives, imposing certain rules
and laws that avoid people to participate in political and social
life.
They also try to avoid the informal and spontaneous relations.

b.) OPEN SOCIETY. It is the society where human beings can behave
with Autonomy because freedom is not restricted and even it is
encouraged (fomentada)
-

It is a society that works FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP

(they are democratic societies). The government changes often
because of election.

The civil society has a very important role in the organization

of society, proposing initiatives.
Relationships are informal and spontaneous. Everyone can get
in touch with other citizens whenever and wherever they want.

THE VALUE OF PERSONAL AUTONOMY

Todays open societies recognize everyones dignity, freedom and
Autonomy. The recognition of personal Autonomy is always linked to the
respect for human dignity.
To recognize it implies to work for get these aims:
a) To defend everybodys rights before political, religious,
economic, military, mass media, etc. powers.
b) To facilitate citizens use of resources and services (food,
housing, public health, scientific and cultural goods).
c) To avoid that certain groups manipulate social decisions.
d) To form a real human family where discrimination (racism,
xenophobia, sexism and homophobia) do not exist.
Being autonomous involves being hard on ourselves:
-

Constantly seeking (looking for/buscar) to change ourselves in order

to make ourselves better.
Thinking about our actions and how they can affect other people.
Talking to each other in order to make ourselves better.

criticise

Criticar (no en el sentido de hablar

mal de alguien sino de denunciar
situaciones injustas despus de
haberlas evaluado con nuestra
razn)

criticism

Espritu crtico (tener disposicin a

pensar sobre las cosas de nuestro
entorno, disposicin para criticar,
para poner de manifiesto las
injusticias)