What question did this study set out to answer?

To explore how modern institutions function as frameworks for nurturing moral selfhood and autonomy.

June 29, 2026Open Access

Institutions for Autonomy: Facilitating Moral Selfhood by Design

UPUdo PeschDelft University of Technology

Key Points

To explore how modern institutions function as frameworks for nurturing moral selfhood and autonomy.
Conceptual analysis of institutional frameworks
Examination of various institutions like courts and educational systems
Discussion on the impact of digitalization and privatization
Identified that institutions allow individuals to justify decisions, enhancing moral selfhood.
Noted that contemporary developments threaten the supportive role of institutions in fostering autonomy.
Suggested that current understandings of autonomy often neglect the importance of reasoned decision-making.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Modern institutions can be seen as ‘regimes of autonomy’, social contexts in which different criteria for autonomy are maintained. Some of these institutions provide individuals the opportunity to nurture their moral selfhood as they allow persons to learn the capacity for giving legitimate justifications for their decisions. Among these institutions are the court of law, the educational system, the public debate and the academic system. Contemporary technical and institutional developments, such as the implementation of digital systems and the privatisation of public services, challenge the capacity of institutions to nurture their moral selfhood. These developments introduce regimes of autonomy in which the autonomous self appears to often be understood as an empirical given, in the sense that there is no necessity to support decisions by giving reasons.

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