Kant – 2
Now what is the opposite of autonomy for Kant? He invested a
special term to describe the opposite of autonomy.
Heteronomy is the opposite of autonomy. When I act
heteronomously, I am acting according to an inclination or a desire that I
haven’s chosen for myself. So freedom is autonomy, is this especially stringent
idea that Kant insist on. Now why is autonomy, to opposite of acting
heteronomously, according to the dictates of nature? Kant’s point is that
nature is governed by laws, laws of cause and effect for example. Suppose you
drop a billiard ball and it falls to the ground. We wouldn’t say the billiard
ball is acting freely. Why not? It’s acting according to the law of cause and
effect, the law of gravity. And just as he has a demanding conception of
morality. To act freely is not to choose the best means to a given end, it’s to
choose the end itself for its own sake. And that’s something that human beings
can do and that billiard ball can’t. Insofar we act on inclination or pursue
pleasure. We act as means to the realization of ends given outside us. We are instruments
rather than authors of the purposes we pursue. That’s the heteronomous
determination of the will.