John Julius Candelaria

Social History and Autonomy an essay John Julius Candelaria

Is autonomy a blessing or a scourge upon humanity? Among all life-forms on this planet, only humans possess autonomy (free will). Autonomy is the single intrinsic characteristic of the human animal that disrupts Nature on a planetary scale. Need proof? Simply open any human-history book. Perhaps eradicating autonomy and existing like the lower animals may be humanity's only option for continuation of our species, also continuation of Earth and its wonders. But autonomy means personal gratification at any cost. So, are "we" willing to give up all our bells and whistles... I think not.