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1. What is autonomy?

Autonomy: Immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority; personal independence. Personal autonomy, then, is the condition in which I, not another, govern myself. Is this autonomy based upon the edict of a government? Is it conferred upon me by the society in which I live? No. Since I am the only "agent" who can initiate my own actions, therefore I am naturally an autonomous being. My computer does not initiate its own actions (yet). Therefore it is not autonomous (yet). But I am. As are you. But as undeniable as it is that I am an autonomous being, it is equally undeniable that I may cede my personal self-government to another. Of course this is not literally true, in that I still retain my freedom of will; it is only in my mind that the power has shifted. And herein lies the problem I wish to address in this article: We are prone to grant power over ourselves to people who lay claim to it. This is a frightening thought, is it not? The very idea that someone can come along and say to me, "I am in authority over you. You will do as I say," and I might just go along with them, simply on their say-so! Preposterous? And yet it happens every day.

2. Why do people want to take it?

The answer to this is simple. People want power. And control over you adds to their power. (As to the reasons why people want power, that is a deeper question that I will happily leave to the psychologists.) There are individuals all around you who have appropriated the autonomy of other people. Some wreak havoc with this power. Consider Adolph Hitler, to whom millions of Germans gifted their autonomy. He led them into a maelstrom of barbarity and cruelty. Others claim to do good with it, but I am doubtful that good can come from anyone allowing their very identity to be subsumed into the mysterious vision of some charismatic leader. But I'm not really concerned with the charismatic leaders in this article; I'm concerned with you and me. Why do we have such a penchant for handing over our autonomy to others? Why do we credit other human beings with sainthood or even godhood? Why do we willingly elevate the fallible to the status of infallibility? Why do we assume that another mind should be given headship over our mind?

3. Why do we give it away?

An evolutionary explanation might be that surrendering autonomy is an advantageous trait among young children. Those who don't listen to the wisdom and experience of their elders end up wandering off and being eaten by predators,

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