Individual autonomy as a moral trend in the context of a social crisis

Abstract

The article analyzes the emergence of a philosophical problem of separating a person from the social world through the formation of an individual value model that presupposes an autonomous spiritual existence of an individual. The political and moral prerequisites of avoiding civic participation are considered. The study focuses on Seneca’s moral theory, revealing the interaction of an individual with society in the context of the transformation of values during a social crisis. The goal of this study is 1) to determine the mutual influence between social inversions and changes in the value models of citizen behavior in society during a social crisis; 2) to formulate the main components of the concept ‘individual autonomy’, presented as part of the ancient tradition; 3) to specify and substantiate moral views of individual alienation from social community; and 4) to find out the features of this trend’s development in the history of social philosophy. The method of historical and comparative analysis and the system method, which allows correlating historical facts and moral interpretations of social events proposed by the Roman authors, are used as a means of reaching the abovementioned goals. The evidence of interrelation between the ancient tradition and subsequent forms of individual autonomy is proposed. Forms of communication with society as part of the self-isolation model of an individual from social activities are presented. The moral contradiction between the official paradigm of morality and a personal perception of social reality is put forward as the basis of social isolation.

Keywords

• autonomy
• social alienation
• moral crisis
• internal independence