The Politics of Persons
Individual Autonomy and Socio-historical Selves

This book presents a model of individual autonomy and provides a foundation for principles of justice for complex democracies.

John Christman (Author)

9781107402294, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 May 2011

286 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.39 kg

Review of the hardback: 'John Christman's work is at the forefront of contemporary debates about the social and political dimensions of individual autonomy. In The Politics of Persons he extends his influential historical analysis of individual autonomy in two important ways: first, by grounding this analysis in a social and historical model of the political self; and second by defending an autonomy-based conception of justice and democracy. The Politics of Persons is an ambitious and significant contribution to the theory of autonomy.' Catriona Mackenzie, Macquarie University

It is both an ideal and an assumption of traditional conceptions of justice for liberal democracies that citizens are autonomous, self-governing persons. Yet standard accounts of the self and of self-government at work in such theories are hotly disputed and often roundly criticized in most of their guises. John Christman offers a sustained critical analysis of both the idea of the 'self' and of autonomy as these ideas function in political theory, offering interpretations of these ideas which avoid such disputes and withstand such criticisms. Christman's model of individual autonomy takes into account the socially constructed nature of persons and their complex cultural and social identities, and he shows how this model can provide a foundation for principles of justice for complex democracies marked by radical difference among citizens. His book will interest a wide range of readers in philosophy, politics, and the social sciences.

1. Introduction
Part I. Selves: 2. The social conception of the self: a critical taxonomy
3. The post-modern subject
4. The narrative self
5. Memory, agency, and the self
Part II. Autonomy: 6. Political persons
7. The historical conception of autonomy
8. Relational autonomy
9. The dynamics of social identities
Part III. Justice: 10. Justice over time: history, public reason, and political legitimacy
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Social & political philosophy [HPS]