Dorothy Lee Autonomy

Humans make decisions many times a day, but what truly influences us to make the choices that we do? Are we controlled by our inherited traits and what we as people were born with, or does it have to do more with how one was raised in adolescence?

Decisions are what direct a average person's life. Some decisions are easy some are hard. But that’s the way of life and how it works.

Every action a person takes is the result of having thought about what it is they think they should do and then doing it. Life is riddled with problems that require solving. Decisions are complex matters that require careful judgment and problem analysis especially when one is in a role where others look up to them and are affected by their decisions.

The notion of choice in an individual’s life is subject to constant questioning. We have what we like to call the freedom of decision-making, but often it simply seems like a facade. Many believe that one’s morals and ethics are solely responsible for the decisions they make, major or minor. Others attribute the external pressures surrounding them and societal factors as the facilitator of choices. Unquestionably, both personal characteristics and societal factors influence the the majority of choices of individuals everywhere. We must consider, however, that one plats more of a role than the other. Pieces of writing such as Christopher Browning’s Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, Michael Bess’ Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimensions of World War II, and Milton Mayer’s No Time to Think explore the idea of both influential aspects. Nonetheless, more influence can be attributed to societal factors and this idea is supported throughout all of the pieces of writing. Societal factors, for the most part, are composed of a plethora of external pressures that we either actively acquiesce to or subconsciously conform to. Societal factors play a much larger role for the average individual in regards to decision-making and this goes for individuals of all backgrounds and beliefs. This is shown in the lives of the Chambonnais, the Reserve Police Battalion, and the two famous experiments known as the Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison

To what degree can an individual’s choices and actions influence the direction of his or her life?

Have you ever thought about why people choose to make the choices they make? There is controversy over if people are able to make their own choices. Almost all of the time you have full control over your decisions. You have the ability to follow the rules if you want to and know that there could be a good or bad consequence to what you do. An individual has the power to choose their response in any situation.

In “Individual Autonomy and Social Structure”, Dorothy Lee discusses different types of cultures within a given society. Lee states that “the principle of personal autonomy is supported by the cultural framework.”(Lee, 5). Lee examines the differences between the individual autonomy of non-western societies and the autonomy of western societies in order to better the society we live in. The reading gave Lee’s point of view on how different societies deal with their conflicts. The conflict between the social structure in western society and individual autonomy is the key social problem that Lee is addressing. Individual autonomy is understood by one’s capacity to decide for them self, to be one’s own person, and the ability to determine their own actions. Individual autonomy is a large principle in western society, as individuals are free to make their own decisions, without being restricted by societies norms. In the article, Lee describes that personal autonomy can lead to lawlessness and chaos in our western culture. Dorothy Lee talks about individual autonomy and the social structure in western culture, and how it is very difficult to comply these two areas in order for them to work in accordance to one another.

The most influential person in an individual life happens to be the parents. Parents teach their children expected behavior, boundaries, and rules. Although, children are always more attentive to their parent’s behavior; something parents quite often do not realize. If the parents walk does not match their talk their; kids will not take in consideration what they have been taught. Kids always have that mentality of “if you did it, I will do it too because it is okay.” Children learn more from their parents character than their teachings; demonstrating that actions speak louder than words. Clearly, what individuals are exposed in their adolescents shapes their mentality affecting how they perceive situations and people. A lot of things

In Dorothy Lee’s “Individual Autonomy and Social Structure,” she argues that while individual autonomy and social structures can coexist together in a community, westernized culture tends not to respect individual autonomy. Social structures, in this case, refer to language, child rearing, work, and leadership roles. Language is a main theme that Lee discusses in the article. She specifically looks at the Wintu natives of California because their language has the ability to respect individual autonomy. Lee makes the argument that social structures can support individual autonomy if they are altered or changed in some way.

Although it sounds appealing to make one's own decision freely, it is actually an impractable goal as the society has exerted significant influence and restrictions on individuals and has shaped one's value of what they should do and what they should not do. In today's society, people are more free to make our own choices than we were before, but it is true that we canno indulge our interests at the cost of transgressing the basic rules of the society.

Since the child is aware of why their parents set such rules, they respect their parents, and are more likely to respect the law as well. Children raised in families with these parenting styles are “self-confident and achievement-oriented in school and get better grades than do children whose parents have other parenting styles” ( Lifespan: Development, 203).

Decision-making would be so much easier if we all maintained our autonomy in making the decision, however, because our decisions do not always abide by autonomistic values paternalistic intervention must occur. The purpose of autonomy is to allow us to choose to do things that affect only ourselves and does not negatively affect those around us. Unfortunately, many choices do, whether we know it or not, involve those in our environment. Paternalism is in place to protect the rights that are in our best interest and that will benefit us in the long run. Paternalistic intervention occurs when decisions are no longer in our best interests. If the decision

I do believe that humans have free will to make their decisions. However, those decisions may be based on their personal environment, circumstances, unbringing and maybe even education. Each individual is responsible for

Many societies have adopted the notion of following a social structure where there is a type of hierarchy in an organisation based on the relationship between individuals. In the Western culture, a social structure is defined as a system that is based on the establishment of social interactions between diverse relationships such as those between parents and children. In contrast, non-western societies have been living a lifestyle where individual autonomy prevails within different families. Hence, in those societies, the concept of child-rearing is a process of self-governance. This idea is well depicted in Dorothy Lee’s

For instance, young adults may join social groups their parents do not approve of and/or test boundaries of everyday life by combatting authority figures. Yet, even during this stage adolescents still carry the worldview of their family members because they are not, yet self-sufficient adults.