Avtonomija, avtoriteta in zaupanje: Virus in meje leta 2020

Abstract

Sodobni liberalizem v izhodišče postavlja posameznikovo avtonomijo. Zato ni presenetljivo, da sta leto 2020 in pandemija, ki ga je zaznamovala, razkrila pomembne meje tega pogleda, posebej ko je šlo za omejevanje svoboščin, ki so se pred tem mnogim zdele samoumevne. Članek obravnava povezani temi. Prva je ustrezno razumevanje pojma avtonomije – tu nasproti liberalističnemu pojmovanju postavlja kantovsko razumevanje avtonomije. Slednje je mnogo bolj prikladno, če želimo razumeti čas, v katerem živimo, in najti poti iz pogostih slepih ulic, ki so v povezavi z pandemijo nastale. Druga tema je zaupanje, ki se je tudi pokazalo kot izjemno krhko. Avtorja ponujata razumevanje zaupanja kot moralne in spoznavne vrline in hkrati izpostavljata, da so avtonomija, avtoriteta in zaupanje relacijski pojavi, saj presegajo razumevanje posameznika kot neodvisnega in razumnega delovalca in predpostavljajo drugega. Še več – predpostavljajo, da moramo biti kot posamezniki v deljenem, skupnem prostoru (političnem, moralnem, spoznavnem ipd.) z drugimi. Vrline, tako moralne kot spoznavne, nam pri orientaciji in delovanju v takšnem prostoru pomagajo. Problem sodobnega liberalizma je tudi v tem, da je privedel do pomanjkanja takšnih skupnih prostorov in pomanjkanja poudarka na ustreznih vrlinah, ki bi presegale vrline ,avtonomnih, racionalnih in neodvisnih‘ posameznikov.

Modern liberalism places the autonomy of the individual as a starting point. Therefore, it is not surprising that the year 2020 and the pandemic that marked it revealed significant limits of this view, especially as it concerns the restriction of freedoms that many had taken for granted before. The article deals with two related themes. The first is a proper understanding of the notion of autonomy, where we propose Kant’s understanding of autonomy as opposed to the notion of autonomy as defended by liberalism. The former is much more helpful if we want to understand the times in which we live and find ways out of the frequent impasses that have arisen in connection with the pandemic. The second is the topic of trust, which has also proven to be highly fragile. We offer an understanding of trust as a moral and epistemic virtue while at the same time emphasizing that autonomy, authority, and trust are all relational phenomena. They disprove the understanding of the individual as an independent, isolated and rational agent. They presuppose the other. Moreover, they assume that we as individuals must be in a shared, common space (political, moral, cognitive, …) with others. Virtues, both moral and epistemic, help us to orient and function in such a space. The problem of modern liberalism is that it has led to a lack of such shared spaces and to a lack of emphasis on appropriate virtues that would go beyond the virtues of an ,autonomous, rational, and independent‘ individual.