Intro: Explication of autonomy competencies –exercised in service of developing an authentic self.

1. Self-Knowledge: authentic self-discovery

1. Formal Rules

1. either inapplicable, c.f. principles of justice
2. or superfluous: once grunt work of self-discovery has been done, formalizing them into principles is less important.

1. Affective Queues (frustration, gratification, shame, pride): starting points and guideposts. –c.f. satisfaction teaching.
2. Introspection: "tracking and probing" one’s inner life (esp. affective queues)
3. Other Skills: not secondary to reading affective queues and introspection

1. Memory: recall one’s history –life experiences.
2. Imagination: construct and consider new alternatives (see oneself)
3. Communication: absorb and express to others.
4. Reason: critical abilities
5. Volition: resistance and resolve

1. Exercise of Skills: sites of use and experimentation

1. Self: many competencies must be workable with little support
2. Community: competencies are best used interacting with others
3. Acts: armchair-authenticity is not genuine.

1. Self-Definition / Self-Direction: life plans

1. Self-hate and Suppression ruled out: c.f. Section 3
2. Grounding in Self-portrait: construction of life plans starts with "realistic" assessment of who we are now, what skills and comps. we possess.
3. Dynamic: self-discovery and self-definition go hand in hand –adjusting appropriately our skills and tasks to our unfolding self-understanding and the overall ideals of our life plan.
4. Life Plans

1. Development: conceiving of alternative "lives" is key to project –looking to lives of others and in our imaginations.
2. Evaluation: parsing reasons for each alternative is required to assess relative merits of various alternatives.
3. Emotions and Articulations: evaluations appeal to two main authorities, our affective states regarding alternatives and clearly articulated reasons outlining the merits of each.

1. Objections

1. Narcissism

1. Objection: self-interest and independent critiques prohibit deep emotional attachments.
2. Reply: Not so, only self-sacrificing dependency is ruled out.

1. Impoverished Life

1. Objection: developing an authentic self requires so much work it doesn’t leave room for much else.
2. Reply: Exercising autonomy competency doesn’t require obsession; once plans are laid out, sensitivity to personal dissonance can play a major role –exercising skills when needed.
3. Note on Possession of Skills: mere possession is not enough –for they can be developed in many other areas of life. One must push them in the service of forming an authentic self.

1. No Standards

1. Objection: the model is overly relativistic –who is to say if one is autonomous/authentic or not and by what standards do we judge?
2. Reply 1: Agents are the standard (their authentic selves), and they have some access to their success (barring self-deception –which is a general problem for any theory).
3. Reply 2: Close associates can assess our lives, esp. in discerning similar cases, such as a conventional life vs. an authentically conventional life.