Skip to main content

Governing [through] Autonomy. The Moral and Legal Limits of “Soft Paternalism”

Ethical Theory and Moral Practice volume 17, pages 383–397 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Legal restrictions of the right to self-determination increasingly pretend to be compatible with the liberal concept of autonomy: they act upon a ‘soft’ or autonomy-orientated paternalistic rationale. Conventional liberal critique of paternalism turns out to be insensitive to the intricate normative problems following from ‘soft’ or ‘libertarian’ paternalism. In fact, these autonomy-oriented forms of paternalism could actually be even more problematic and may infringe liberty rights even more intensely than hard paternalistic regulation. This paper contributes to the systematic differentiation of soft and hard paternalism by discussing the (legal) concept of autonomy and elaborates the moral and legal limits of autonomy-orientated paternalism.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Notes

  1. See Dworkin 1983, p. 20: “Intervention in a person’s liberty of action is justified by reasons referring exclusively to the welfare, good, happiness, needs, interests, or values of the person being coerced.” It should be noted in particular that Dworkin differentiates between autonomy and liberty of action and is content with intervention in the latter, a question we will return to.

  2. For example, the German transplantation law does not directly forbid citizens to donate an organ to an unrelated person, but the doctor who removes the organ with the donor’s consent is punishable under law (§ 8 Abs. 1 TPG).

  3. Cf. First 2005 for Body Identity Integrity Syndrome.

  4. Cf. Noll 1955, 74 f.; Jescheck and Weigend 1996. See fundamentally Raz 1986, 188 ff. 191.

  5. Rulings of the German Constitutional Court (BVerfGE) vol. 120 (2008), p. 224 (confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights, Ruling 43547/08, April 12, 2012). For the problematics of legal moralism, cf. particularly the dissenting opinion of Judge Hassemer, ibidem, marg. 99.

  6. John Stuart Mill already meant his antipaternalistic theory “to apply only to human beings in the maturity of their faculties”. He exempted children, adolescents, those with defective reflective faculties, including, by the way, “those backward states of society in which the race itself may be considered in its nonage“ (Mill 1992, 13). There are authors who state, as we do, that even if a person’s stated preferences do not derive from a substantially autonomous choice, the act of overriding these preferences is still paternalistic (cf. Childress 1982; Kleinig 1983, pp. 6–14; VanDeVeer 1986, pp. 16–40, Schöne-Seifert 2009). There has, however, been no systematic treatment of the justifiability of these forms of ‘soft’ paternalism so far.

  7. Cf. Feinberg 1971, 113, 116: “substantially non-voluntary conduct”, also Beauchamp and Childress 2009, 210.

  8. In Germany, e.g. § 8 Abs. 1 Transplantation Act (18 years); § 2 Castration Act (25 years).

  9. Beauchamp 1977, 67; idem, 2009, 80, 83 (“paternalism seizes decision-making authority by overriding a person’s autonomous choice“ / “only strong paternalism qualifies as paternalism“; italics TG and BFM); Quante 2002, 308 ff.

  10. Beauchamp and Childress 2009, p. 210: “soft paternalism does not involve a real conflict between the principles of respect for autonomy and beneficence”.

  11. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

  12. U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), Art. 1 II, 12 II and 12 IV 2.

  13. § 1901 BGB (Germany).

  14. Motivation of the German Parliament, BT-DrS., p. 11/4528, p. 67. Advance directives prevail, though (§ 1901a BGB Germany).

  15. § 1904 BGB (Germany).

  16. Rulings of the German Constitutional Court (BVerfGE), vol. 128, p. 282, marg. 42 and 55.

  17. In German law, for example, there are differentiated procedural solutions for open-ended consultation processes through boards of privileged consultation and decision-making bodies (such as commissions for living organ donation in transplantation law and ethics commissions in the area of clinical pharmacological testing) as well as the obligation to consult guardianship courts, cf. Saliger 2003, 1–170, Fateh-Moghadam 2003, 245–257; Fateh-Moghadam and Atzeni 2009.

  18. Joel Feinberg is stricter in this regard: “When consent to a given kind of dangerous conduct is so rare and unlikely that it would hardly ever be given unless in ignorance, under coercive pressure, or because of impaired faculties, then a legislature might simply ban it on the basis of the harm-to-others principle, assuming for all practical purposes that consent to that kind of agreement never is voluntary enough. Such a rationale avoids (hard) paternalism and accords with the liberal’s motivation” (Feinberg 1986, p. 174).

  19. Sunstein 2005; Van Aaken 2007; Sunstein & Thaler 2003a, 138, who insist that their version of paternalism is ‘soft’ paternalism, see Thaler & Sunstein 2009, p. 6.

References

  • Anderson J (2010) Review: nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness, Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. Econ Philos 26:369–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumann P (1995) Handlung, Willensbildung und Macht. Conceptus 72:21–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp T (1977) Paternalism and bio-behavioral control. Monist 60:62–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp T (2009) The concept of paternalism in biomedical ethics. In: Honnefelder L, Sturma D (eds) Jahrbuch für Wissenschaft und Ethik 14. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp 77–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp T, Childress JF (2009) Principles of biomedical ethics, 6th edn. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Benn SI (1976) Freedom, autonomy, and the concept of a person. Proc Aristot Soc 86:109–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Benn SI (1988) A theory of freedom. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Berofsky B (1995) Liberation from self. A theory of personal autonomy. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bratman M (2005) Planning agency, autonomous agency. In: Taylor J (ed) Personal autonomy: New essays on personal autonomy and its role in contemporary moral philosophy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 33–57

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan AE, Brock DW (1990) Deciding for others: The ethics of surrogate decision making. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Childress JF (1982) Who should decide? paternalism in health care. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Christman J (2009) The politics of persons. Individual autonomy and socio-historical selves. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • DeMarco JP (2002) Competence and paternalism. Bioethics 16:231–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Detrick S (1999) A commentary on the united nations convention on the rights of the child. Martinus Nijhoff, Den Haag

    Google Scholar 

  • Devlin P (1965) The enforcement of morals. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin G (1983) Paternalism. In: Sartorius R (ed) Paternalism. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp 19–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin G (1988) The theory and practice of autonomy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin G (2005) Moral paternalism. Law Philos 24:305–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin G (2010) Paternalism, the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2010 Edition), Zalta EN(ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2010/entries/paternalism/[3.8.2012]

  • Dworkin R, Nagel T, Nozick R, Rawls J, Scanlon T, Thomson JJ (1997) Assisted suicide. the philosophers’ brief. New York Rev Books 23(3):41–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Elster J (1983) Sour grapes. Studies in the subversion of rationality. CUP, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Fateh-Moghadam B (2003) Zwischen Beratung und Entscheidung—Einrichtung, Funktion und Legitimation der Verfahren vor den Lebendspendekommissionen gemäß § 8 Abs. 3 S. 2 TPG im bundesweiten Vergleich. Medizinrecht 21(5):245–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fateh-Moghadam B (2008) Die Einwilligung in die Lebendorganspende. Die Entfaltung des Paternalismusproblems im Horizont differenter Rechtsordnungen am Beispiel Deutschlands und Englands. Beck, München

    Google Scholar 

  • Fateh-Moghadam B, Atzeni G (2009) Ethisch vertretbar im Sinne des Gesetzes—Zum Verhältnis von Ethik und Recht am Beispiel der Praxis von Forschungs-Ethikkommissionen. In: Vöneky S, Hagedorn C, Clados M et al (eds) Legitimation ethischer Entscheidungen im Recht—Interdisziplinäre Untersuchungen. Springer, Berlin, pp 115–143

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Feinberg J (1971) Legal paternalism. Can J Philos 1:105–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Feinberg J (1986) Harm to self. The moral limits of the criminal Law. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • First MB (2005) Desire for amputation of a limb: paraphilia, psychosis, or a new type of identity disorder. Psychol Med 35:919–928

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freud S (1972a) Das Ich und das Es (1923). In: Freud S (1972) Studienausgabe. Band III. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M., pp 273–330

  • Freud S (1972b) Neue Folge der Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die Psychoanalyse (1932). In: Freud S (1972) Studienausgabe. Band I. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M., pp 448–608

  • Grill K (2007) The normative core of paternalism. Res Publica 13:441–458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Habermas J (1973) Erkenntnis und Interesse. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a. M.

  • Habermas J (2003) The future of human nature, translated by hella beister and william rehg. Polity, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart HLA (1963) Law, liberty and morality. Stanford University Press, Stanford

    Google Scholar 

  • Hausman DM, Welch B (2010) To nudge or not to nudge. J Polit Philos 18:123–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Husak DN (2003) Legal paternalism. In: LaFollette H (ed) The oxford handbook of practical ethics. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 387–412

    Google Scholar 

  • Jescheck HH, Weigend T (1996) Lehrbuch des Strafrechts. Allgemeiner Teil. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolls C, Sunstein C (2006) Debiasing through law. J Leg Stud 35:199–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahnemann D, Tversky A (2000) Choices, values and frames. Cambridge University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahnemann D, Slovic P, Tversky A (1982) Judgement under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Cambridge University Press, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kant I (1902 ff.) Gesammelte Schriften. Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin

  • Kleinig J (1983) Paternalism. Rowman and Allanheld, Totowa

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayr E (2010) Grenzen des weichen Paternalismus II—Zwischen Harm Principle und Unvertretbarkeit. In: Vossenkuhl W (ed) Fateh-Moghadam B, Sellmaier St. Grenzen des Paternalismus. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, pp 48–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Mill J S (1992) On liberty [1859]. In: Mill, On liberty and utilitarianism, with an introduction by Isaiah Berlin. Alfred A. Knopf, New York and Toronto

  • Murmann U (2005) Die Selbstverantwortung des Opfers im Strafrecht. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Noll P (1955) Übergesetzliche Rechtfertigungsgründe im besonderen die Einwilligung des Verletzten. Verlag für Recht und Gesellschaft, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Parisi F, Smith VL (eds) (2005) The Law and economics of irrational behavior. Stanford University Press, Stanford

    Google Scholar 

  • Quante M (2002) Personales Leben und menschlicher Tod. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a. M.

  • Quante M (2011) In defence of personal autonomy. J Med Ethics 37:597–600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rachlinski J (2003) The uncertain psychological case for paternalism. Northwest Univ Law Rev 97:1165–1225

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls J (1971) A theory of justice. The belknap press of harvard university. Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Raz J (1986) The morality of freedom. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Saliger F (2003) Legitimation durch Verfahren im Medizinrecht. In: Bernat E, Kröll W (eds) Recht und Ethik der Arzneimittelforschung. Manz, Wien, pp 124–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmahl S (2012) UN-Kinderrechtskonvention. Nomos, Baden-Baden

    Google Scholar 

  • Schöne-Seifert B (2009) Paternalismus. Zu seiner ethischen Rechtfertigung in Medizin und Psychiatrie. In: Honnefelder L, Sturma D (eds) Jahrbuch für Wissenschaft und Ethik 14. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp 107–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunstein C (ed) (2000) Behavioral law and economics (Cambridge series on judgment and decision making). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunstein C (2005) Laws of fear: Beyond the precautionary principle. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sunstein C, Thaler R (2003) Libertarian paternalism is not an oxymoron. Univ Chic Law Rev 70:1159–1202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor Ch (1985a) Self-interpreting animals. In: Taylor Ch: Philosophical papers. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 45–76

  • Taylor Ch (1985b) What’s wrong with negative liberty. In: Taylor Ch: Philosophical Papers. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 211–229

  • Thaler R, Sunstein C (2009) Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Penguin, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Trout JD (2005) Paternalism and cognitive bias. Law Philos 24:393–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Aaken A (2006) Begrenzte Rationalität und Paternalismusgefahr: Das Pinzip des schonendsten Paternalismus. In: Anderheiden M, Heinig H, Bürkli P et al (eds) Paternalismus und Recht. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, pp 109–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Aaken A (2007) Das deliberative Element juristischer Verfahren als Instrument zur Überwindung nachteiliger Verhaltensanomalien—Ein Plädoyer für die Einbeziehung diskursiver Elemente in die Verhaltensökonomik des Rechts. In: Engel C, Englerth M, Lüdemann J et al (eds) Recht und Verhalten. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, pp 189–230

    Google Scholar 

  • VanDeVeer D (1986) Paternalistic interventions. The moral bounds on benevolence. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner E, Fateh-Moghadam B (2005) Freiwilligkeit als Verfahren. Zum Verhältnis von Lebendorganspende, medizinischer Praxis und Recht. Soziale Welt 1:73–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wikler D (1983) Paternalism and the mildly retarded. In: Sartorius R (ed) Paternalism, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp 83–94

  • Wolfenden Committee (1957) Report of the committee on homosexual offences and prostitution, reprinted 1963 as wolfenden report: report of the committee on homosexual offences and prostitution. Stein and Day, New York

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany

    Bijan Fateh-Moghadam & Thomas Gutmann

Authors
  1. Bijan Fateh-Moghadam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas Gutmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bijan Fateh-Moghadam.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fateh-Moghadam, B., Gutmann, T. Governing [through] Autonomy. The Moral and Legal Limits of “Soft Paternalism”. Ethic Theory Moral Prac 17, 383–397 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-013-9450-3

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-013-9450-3

Keywords

  • Autonomy
  • Soft paternalism
  • Weak paternalism
  • Autonomy-oriented paternalism
  • Libertarian paternalism