Dilemmas of autonomy and happiness

Abstract

Harry Brighouse has advanced an intriguing set of arguments about the place of human flourishing in liberal educational theory. In his book On Education, Brighouse argues that autonomy can be justified instrumentally because it promotes flourishing. He links flourishing to the psychological concept of `subjective wellbeing' and he spells out the implications of subjective wellbeing research for educational policy. Each of these moves, while promising, raises questions. It is unclear how the instrumental justification for autonomy is a political improvement for liberalism over other justifications, and the link between autonomy and flourishing can be questioned on empirical grounds. In addition, a focus on subjective wellbeing may be irrelevant to the central ethical considerations relating to education and economic growth. Finally, the use of social science research on subjective wellbeing may present problems if it is used to construct educational policies around the `central tendencies' of large populations while overlooking students with more eccentric preferences.