Summary Of Autonomy By Dorothy Lee

Dorothy Lee presents the reader with her thoughts and views on personal autonomy and social structure by using the examples of many different societies. She studies “how the principle of personal autonomy is supported by the cultural framework” (Lee 5). The overall key problem that Lee is presenting is the battle of one’s individual autonomy versus the social structure of society. In order to explore these ideas further, the example of child rearing is presented through many societies. Specifically, in the Navaho societies, the mothers use the mechanism of trust rather than a dictatorship relationship with their children. Also, through guiding their child rather than commanding them, the Wintu Indians believe that this will not affect their children’s personal autonomies. Through both of these aboriginal communities, Lee presents the upbringing of children in the sense that they are not treated as minorities but rather equals. This essentially solves the problem of parental upbringing as a threat to one’s personal autonomy.
They believe that this gives their children a better sense of individuality in that they can make their own choices. Navaho mothers give their children “the freedom to make [their] own mistakes” rather than harshly direct them and stop them from learning from their faults (Lee, 13). Social norms often take effect on the way children are brought up and in Western society; people are restricted to those social norms. In the Navaho society, there seems to not be a care for what others do but more concentration on the child and how to guide them towards their future successes. Many aboriginal societies use similar approaches in raising their