What Are The Limits On An Individual Autonomy
Alisha Kifer
Machine Man In general, an adult has the right to make choices about their life in order to preserve his or her autonomy. In the novel Machine Man by Max Barry, the protagonist Charlie Nuemann would agree with respecting an individual’s autonomy because “. . . this is my body. I can make my own decisions” (Barry 199). While an adult may think that he or she is being treated as an autonomous individual, there are legitimate limits on an individual’s autonomy. Some alterations are permitted by our society and should be, but people should not be able to alter themselves as drastically as Dr. Neumann altered himself. There are possible limits on an individual’s autonomy. Many limits on an individual’s autonomy take precedence in the medical field because in most cases the patient is incapable of making a completely rational decision while injured, traumatized, or ill. For example, if someone has a confirmed …show more content…
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution grants citizens the right to freedom of speech, yet they have certain limitations to follow to ensure the safety of others. For example, you can’t legally scream “FIRE!” in a public place without the presence of a fire because it could potentially be dangerous to others. Also, one could be sued if slander takes place against another person because it could potentially damage the corresponding individual’s reputation.
In order to respect an individual’s autonomy, an adult should be able to alter his or her body while in the right state of mind, but there should be limits. Individuals should not be allowed to alter themselves like Dr. Neumann did for many reasons. Charlie was not thinking rationally, possibly because of the cognitive effects of the painkillers, when he decided to make drastic body alterations such as amputating his remaining biological leg in order to replace it with a more efficient
Machine Man In general, an adult has the right to make choices about their life in order to preserve his or her autonomy. In the novel Machine Man by Max Barry, the protagonist Charlie Nuemann would agree with respecting an individual’s autonomy because “. . . this is my body. I can make my own decisions” (Barry 199). While an adult may think that he or she is being treated as an autonomous individual, there are legitimate limits on an individual’s autonomy. Some alterations are permitted by our society and should be, but people should not be able to alter themselves as drastically as Dr. Neumann altered himself. There are possible limits on an individual’s autonomy. Many limits on an individual’s autonomy take precedence in the medical field because in most cases the patient is incapable of making a completely rational decision while injured, traumatized, or ill. For example, if someone has a confirmed …show more content…
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution grants citizens the right to freedom of speech, yet they have certain limitations to follow to ensure the safety of others. For example, you can’t legally scream “FIRE!” in a public place without the presence of a fire because it could potentially be dangerous to others. Also, one could be sued if slander takes place against another person because it could potentially damage the corresponding individual’s reputation.
In order to respect an individual’s autonomy, an adult should be able to alter his or her body while in the right state of mind, but there should be limits. Individuals should not be allowed to alter themselves like Dr. Neumann did for many reasons. Charlie was not thinking rationally, possibly because of the cognitive effects of the painkillers, when he decided to make drastic body alterations such as amputating his remaining biological leg in order to replace it with a more efficient