Could you just take a minute or two out of your day and do something to help me?

I need you to tell me what you think a word means.

I don’t want a cut and past job from the nearest on-line dictionary, I need to know what you think when you read the word.

If the answer is ‘I haven’t a clue what it means’ – then please say so; if you are embarrassed to say so in public, then give yourself a different username – call yourself John Prescott or something equally dumb!

I want to know what this word represents to you.

Thank-you for taking the time to help.

OK, here’s your word – your starter for ten……

AUTONOMY.

Timdog January 17,
2011 at 07:42

Sworn enemy of the Decepticons.

Or self-determination, the ability to take one’s own decisions without
interference, helpful or otherwise, from anyone else.

A. N. Other January 16, 2011 at 11:21

An aggressive software company that provides very good (though not always
the best) enterprise conceptual search solutions – at a high price. Achieving
their own internal scorecard has the unfortunate side-effect of antagonising
partners, so that they dread working with them (and being left “high and dry”
on the support front – yet again).

Submariner January 16, 2011 at 08:16

The condition of being able to make one’s own decisions.

mark January 15, 2011 at 18:47

I think that Autonomy means ” self determination” or to put it more crudely
” Being left alone ” to get on with one’s own life. This is something that
Socialists of all colours find impossible to understand. So here it is in a
phrase; ” Get your nose out of my business and your thieving parasitical hands
out of my wallet you fascist c**t!!! ( Apologies for the language but apart
from violence or the threat of violence it’s the only language they
understand)

Daniel Carroll
January 15, 2011 at 16:22

Autonomy means a constituent part of a larger unit having a large measure
of independence within that larger unit.
In the world of politics, this
independent field of action may be purely fictional (cf. ‘Autonomous
Republics’ of the former Soviet Union).

Demetrius January
15, 2011 at 15:44

My car won’t start?

SadButMadLad January 15, 2011 at 14:03

To be independent and in control of one’s self, whether that be an
individual or organisation. Whatever is the smallest unit where such self
control can be exercised without the need for an external influence.

Michael January 15, 2011 at 13:06

Autonomy – The expectation of being recognised by an old acquaintance.

lilith January 15, 2011 at 13:02

I was once asked to write an essay called “The autonomy of a work of art”
which finally killed off any interest I had in modern Art History.

fred January 15, 2011 at 13:01

The word will always remind me of Monty Python’s anarcho-syndicalist
autonomous mud collective which collected baskets of mud and fought the
violence inherent in the system and the oppression of the masses by the
self-perpetuating autocracy of the state.

wassname January 15, 2011 at 12:56

Action with no external influence or assistance.

Kateletts January 15, 2011 at 12:39

Control, it makes me think of someone else having conol over you
decisions.

Span
Ows January 15, 2011 at 11:23

Freedom to act independently (whether as part of a greater organisation or
nexus, or not)

Ladybird,
Ladybird January 15, 2011 at 11:18

I like 22over7′s:

‘Self governing or regulating.
With ingredients of: free of external
regulation; self-standing; growing from within.’

But ‘pristine’ autonomy also implies a limit – a border. Who is it that
initiates, from without, the process of ‘self’ that can become autonomous ie.
Who winds the key from which the self regulating body runs? (first causes and
all that) And who defines the notion of ‘self’ from which autonomy is
known?

Doesn’t the very notion of autonomy arise from human concensus and
negotiation? we negotiate national borders within which we can recognise an
autonomy of a state (notwithstanding the EU!).

At a personal level we negotiate autonomy with respect to individual space
and freedoms – with reference to a hotch-potch of legal and tacit frameworks –
frameworks that require some collective recognition to function at all.

Autonomy exists in ‘process’ perhaps as much as ‘reality’.

Christians negotiate autonomy with respect to the limits of a Gospel
morality. Atheists might regard this autonomy as deluded and subservient (to
God). But somehow we need these diverse autonomies to meet, and to respect
each others boundaries – ie to negotiate.

Autonomy becomes the negotiation of a free creative space within a larger
collective of ‘other’ spaces. Each (ideally) respecting the other. Although
clearly not so today.

?

ukFred January 15, 2011 at 11:03

The right and freedom to make independent decisions based on what the
decision-maker thinks is correct.

Cerdic January 15, 2011 at 10:44

1) capable of self-management
2) allowed to self-manage
Note: there
is often little connection between 1) and 2).

Dan January 15, 2011 at 10:06

What I like, when I like

22over7 January 15, 2011 at 10:02

Self governing or regulating.
With ingredients of: free of external
regulation; self-standing; growing from within. In mathematics, “autonomous”
sometimes refers to a kind of
incremental feedback.

Mrsknownothing
January 15, 2011 at 09:46

Gosh, I thought it was going to be an obscure word.

Sorry, I’ve no idea.

Châtelaine January 15, 2011 at 09:31

I think that autonomy is the radius of action of MrG’s new car.

PT January 15, 2011 at 09:30

The possession of the will and the ability to think and act without
reference to any external opinion or authority.

Sue Marsh January
15, 2011 at 06:37

Hmm, autonomy now bothering me a bit.

Isn’t there a trace of sinister? Robotic?

And autonomic neuropathy isn’t very nice is it?

Perhaps autonomy can become uncontrolled?

John Levett January 15, 2011 at 05:36

If it means anything, it means that it can mean whatever you want it to
mean.

ingram January 15, 2011 at 04:26

Do what I fucking well want.

richard January 15, 2011 at 03:40

A self-governing system, ie an entity that controls itself, exhibits
autonomy.

richard January 15, 2011 at 03:43

That’s what I think it means. What it makes me think of is Statism,
because we don’t have any autonomy as a society, and very little as
individuals.

robbiethered
January 15, 2011 at 01:12

I think, in a nutshell, if you want the closest and shortest defintition
within the fewest words, may be the poster above (Apologies but I ain’t got
even time to look you up and quote you by name, if I stick to what I think
she’s implying!) is self-determination.
The last time, if you want full
honesty, I fully recall hearing the word autonomous before its use here, was
actually within a fan site of the inventor of the Robosapien V2. Specifically,
a mention of , I quote, “Autonomous flying robots” which may be used in
certain warfare.

I’ve used the word before, but certain uses of it, as above, have seemed to
both validate it and yet depress me. I’ll leave it to the more intellectual
here to understand why.

David C January 15, 2011 at 00:37

It means self-ruling. Often applied in the adjectival form by big
dictatorships to small dictatorships within – ‘the autonomous regions’.

Jonathan Miller
January 15, 2011 at 00:10

Autonomy.
The ability to make decisions for yourself, as opposed to
someone else making those decisions.

Simon Cooke January 15, 2011 at 00:02

I guess it literally means “being a law unto oneself” – but we usually take
it to mean “free to act without external controls”.

cynicalHighlander
January 14, 2011 at 23:50

A vehicle that’s broke?

fred January 14, 2011 at 23:35

To be autonomous is to be a law unto yourself.

Peil January 14, 2011 at 23:09

The ability to perform actions without limitations or direction imposed by
an external agent

KWCook January 14, 2011 at 22:58

The ability to make one’s own decisions without interference from any
source.
Can’t self-reliance come into it too?

InLikeFlint January 14, 2011 at 22:39

The freedom to make decisions for oneself.

Joe Public
January 15, 2011 at 13:08

Autonomy isn’t a basic human right.

Ironically, you have to be allowed “The freedom to make decisions for
oneself.” by those with the power to bestow it.

procrustes January
14, 2011 at 22:18

Or perhaps it’s the art of discerning familiar makes of cars in celestial
bodies as in “Per adua ad (Vauxhall) Astra” or ” Oh, look! it’s the signs of
the (Ford) Zodiac”

Gloria Smudd
January 14, 2011 at 22:20

That’s exactly the kind of thing a Carpricorn would say!

procrustes January 14, 2011 at 22:54

You’re Virgo’n the ridiculous now… (I’ll get my coat)

Gloria
Smudd January 14, 2011 at 23:24

Tyresome, ain’t I?

Engineer January 14, 2011 at 22:26

Is auto-onme working under the car when the jack collapses?

Gloria Smudd
January 14, 2011 at 22:27

No. That’s called a ‘flat’.

Pericles January 14, 2011 at 23:42

Look up at the sky now and you might see an Orion — and a few degrees to
the East there’s our esteemed landlady, Procyon !

ΠΞ

Livewire January 15, 2011 at 14:37

Nissun Dorma. A lullaby for a four-wheeled friend.

Mike McBan January 14, 2011 at 22:16

To function independantly without need of approval or assistance from
another party.

Chopper January 14, 2011 at 22:10

Almost but not quite sovereignty.

Having responsibility for your own affairs, while still being nominally
subordinate to some higher level authority.

Like the way Hong Kong is effectively an independent territory, but is
subordinate to the Chinese government.

procrustes January
14, 2011 at 22:05

Self-determination?

Adam
Collyer January 14, 2011 at 22:01

Having the power to determine your own future.

woodsy42 January 14, 2011 at 21:42

Simply:, the ability to make decisions and act without confirmation,
approval or interference from higher authority.
However, it is not without
limits as some sort of higher authority or agreement will have ‘allowed’ the
autonomy, so it is normally bounded or restricted to a particular set of
potential actions or to a specific sphere of activity. It’s rather that the
‘higher’ authority has pre-approved any action the autonomous body takes in
it’s sphere of competance.

Pericles January 14, 2011 at 21:40

Zaphod’s is such a pertinent remark.  “Any fool can be right. 
What matters is getting people to listen.”

Look at how that applies to the a.g.w. fraud :  31,000-odd
American scientists (that just Americans), signatories to the Petition
Project, might be right but it’s the fraudsters that have the public’s
ear.

ΠΞ

Richard B January
14, 2011 at 21:38

The quality of an entity which does not need to refer to anything else
before acting – an autonomous mechanism acts independently of other
mechanisms, an autonomous person can act without seeking anyone’s permission,
an autonomous country is independent of the rule of others, an autonomous
region is one that, although it is part of a larger country, nevertheless
rules itself.

Self-rule, literally. In my mind, there is the understanding that, not only
is an autonomous person free to act as they choose, but they have the ability
to do so meaningfully. An independent adult, if you like, rather than a child
of 6 left alone in the house. Now to read all the others …

Caratacus January 14, 2011 at 22:46

Yep – that’s about it.

will January 14, 2011 at 22:54

“not only is an autonomous person free to act as they choose, but they
have the ability to do so meaningfully.”

reminds me of a critique of democracy that compared the ‘choice’ or
rulers to being told that of course you were free to marry whoever you like
but you’re going to be locked in a cell with this individual for the rest of
your life. freedom of speech and/or thought is nothing without the freedom
to act.

Dioclese January
14, 2011 at 21:31

Autonomy means freedom to make decisions and act without external
influence.

Stop Common
Purpose January 14, 2011 at 21:24

Acting independently.

Ray W January 14, 2011 at 21:23

Good challenge. How about . . .

The ability to decide and to act independently, operating without
permission or approval from others.

Caratacus January 14, 2011 at 21:15

Mary Baker Eddy, she say “Self Will, Self Love – Self Justification”. Now
why did I think of that??

Livewire January 15, 2011 at 06:12

I’d use caution with the term “self-love”, language is a dynamic
thing…
Apparently in French it causes laughter if you say “J’ai finit”
rather than “termine” despite what the old dictionaries say.
Autonomous –
Acts independantly as in autonomic nervous system.

Anna
Raccoon January 14, 2011 at 21:03

Wow! What a response! This has been fascinating.
Yes, of course I’ll
tell you all what it is about, just getting it all together in my head –
probably Monday.
Don’t stop now – you’re on a roll!

Engineer January 14, 2011 at 20:58

The freedom (and authority, if delegated from above) to take decisions
yourself, and to have those decisions respected.

Caedmon’s
Cat January 14, 2011 at 20:34

The first word that springs to mind when I see or hear the word is
independence. However, when I break the word into its constituent Greek bits,
I see the elements αύτος (self) and νομος (law). So to be autonomous is to be
a law to oneself.

Engineer January 14, 2011 at 21:00

For a feline, you have a broad education. Have you been eating Caedmon’s
books?

Caedmon’s
Cat January 14, 2011 at 21:38

No. But I eat his fish, though. Brother Wenham at the Abbey has helped
me with my Greek education.

Caedmon’s Cat January 14, 2011 at 21:39

PS I’m lucky at dominoes too..

electro-kevin
January 14, 2011 at 20:28

Being able to determine one’s own actions.

Why the question ?

I had to do the same about Scrabble rules recently. I got pilloried to high
heaven and yet I was right all along.

Zaphod January 14, 2011 at 21:01

Any fool can be right. What matters is getting people to listen.

Paul Byrne January 14, 2011 at 20:27

The ability to act on your own volition.

Dick the Prick
January 14, 2011 at 20:09

Autonomic = involuntary, i thought. Hmm….dunno now (didn’t cheat).

Zaphod January 14, 2011 at 21:00

Yes, involuntary, as far as “central contoller” is concerned. Something
acted by itself, without being told to by the boss.

Dick the
Prick January 15, 2011 at 17:34

Autonomic nervous system – medulla oblongata and such

berenike January 14, 2011 at 19:50

Self rule.

Gloria Smudd
January 14, 2011 at 19:48

Oh, go on, Anna! Just ‘Google’ it!

Bod January 14, 2011 at 19:45

The concept of having personal control over your actions.

WitteringsfromWitney January 14, 2011 at 19:43

Anna: Unlike Catatacus, I have read all the comments – so far (19:25). Some
are quite witty and humourous, however can we insert what I hope is a
‘reasoned’ comment?

As one who believes – and hopes – that he has ‘Libertarian’ beliefs, it is
utterly impossible to bring matters of choice down to an individual – it is
still important that decisions are taken by a majority vote of a group.

Whilst agreeing that decisions should be taken at the lowest level
possible, should not those decisions be taken by those living in a local
authority area? This would cover subjects such as health, education, and law
& order, together with waste collection etc etc.

In other words, whilst accepting that a defiition of ‘autonomous’ means the
choice of the individual, it has to be ‘tempered’, to a certain extent. I have
always maintained that central government should only be charged with the
defence of the realm, setting basic levels of requirement in local issues, the
implementation of how those basic levels are implemented must be left to the
locality to decide, again by majority vote.

This would immediately ensure that those that did not ‘like’ the decisions
made could move elsewhere and by setting a ‘level’ that is attractive to
others would induce movement into the area concerned.

It would also concentrate the minds of local councillors, who would thus
become more responsive to local resident’s demands – it would also serve to
dismantle the present ‘Cabinet’ system of local government, thus returning
local government to the system which prevailed quite well prior to Prescott
trying to mangle it!

Just a thought for further discussion…….?

will January 14, 2011 at 22:48

“subjects such as health, education, and law & order, together with
waste collection”

id challenge the assumption that these are all necessarily the role
and/or sole province of the state – but then i am a naive extremist. however
surely, at the very least, most people can recognise that something as
simple as waste collection can be left to the free market? the state doesnt
deliver milk or newspapers. how about competing bin lorries? or driving my
own household waste to landfill etc. there are endless
alternatives.
although i do recognise that you are proposing competing
local systems that merely ‘package’ such services so the competition is
still there. i think there is room for ‘package’ communities and even more,
dare i say, autonomous communities.

Bertie Bassett
January 14, 2011 at 19:37

Where an organisation or individual has the means, tbrough power or
resources, to act without needing prior approval by some other organisation or
individual

Zaphod January 14, 2011 at 19:31

Autonomy, without looking it up, is a greater capacity for
self-determination than is usual. In practise it’s relative, not absolute.

Ed P January 14, 2011 at 19:30

So perhaps Taxonomy means the “right” to be stuffed by tax demands?

Ben January 15, 2011 at 02:01

No that’s taxidermy. Which makes me wonder…is there an ‘autodermy’?

Fred January 14, 2011 at 19:24

That which we no longer have in the UK.
From greek “Auto”=self, me as in
aut0mobile = self propelled.
Nomos, also greek = the law. So auutonomous =
Libertarian mindset – I’ll decide my own laws, thank you, so get out of my
life big government.
As in Autonomous Mind, a blog nearly as good as
yours

Joe Public January 14, 2011 at 19:24

It’s what powerful governments / organisations allow some minions to think
they have.

Caratacus January 14, 2011 at 21:06

Ouch!

Barking
Spider January 14, 2011 at 19:15

Something that Britain desperately needs to regain but hasn’t got a hope of
doing so while the Lib/Lab/Conmen remain in power.

Derek Reynolds
January 14, 2011 at 19:15

Why do you ask?

Fat
Jacques January 14, 2011 at 19:14

Controlling oneself, free of external control

Olivers Army
January 14, 2011 at 19:14

The freedom of an individual to think and act without restraint. An
individual may wish to limit their own autonomy by applying moral and ethical
considerations to their own actions or may voluntarily surrender some of their
autonomy to a group construct such a nation state. No state can be autonomous
as its existence is based on the surrender of autonomy by its constituent
members.

Pericles January 14, 2011 at 21:11

On a philosophical point :  if an individual ‘limit his own
autonomy’ or ‘surrender some of his autonomy’, is he not actually still
autonomous in that any new parameter is one he himself imposed ?

ΠΞ

opsimath January 14, 2011 at 19:13

Having the choice to do what you want, free will?

NewsBoycap January 14, 2011 at 19:13

‘Nomies’, Nomie’s, Nomy’s behaving with freedom i.e. (Auto)matically ?

ivan January 14, 2011 at 19:11

The freedom to do your own thing without governments poking their noses
in.

The Thing January 14, 2011 at 19:07

Autonomy is the Sun rising when IT decides to.

Caratacus January 14, 2011 at 18:59

Stand alone self-sufficiency…

Didn’t look it up, didn’t look at any of the above comments!

Does that help?

Disenfranchised of Buckingham January 14, 2011 at 18:51

I’m not sure I quite agree with most of the above.

I think there is an implication of independance of action inside of a
defined framework.

So an autonomous machine works within guidlands and an autonomous region is
a semi independant region of a larger state.

Andrew P
Withers January 14, 2011 at 18:58

Are the guidlands near Glasgow ?

MrG
January 14, 2011 at 18:50

How about… Autonomy = The amount of cash needed to purchase a car ?
I
like the ones about telling the USA or The EU to mind their own effin
business!

Pavlov’s
Cat January 14, 2011 at 18:45

The immediate thought that sprung in my head was

Self-determination

Pericles January 14, 2011 at 18:43

I hope that, in the due course, we are to be told why you asked this
question.

ΠΞ

Pericles January 14, 2011 at 18:41

Love some of the answers you’ve already received.  My boring, if
spontaneous, answer is ‘self-rule’.  Ho-hum.

ΠΞ

Sue Marsh January
14, 2011 at 18:39

Living my own life without being told how.
Trusted to decide.
Allowed
to be wrong.

Ed Butt January
14, 2011 at 18:39

It should mean a country telling the unelected bureaucrats of Brussels
:

“Eff off, we can run our own affairs thank you.”

But I don’t think it does any more.

Bill January 14, 2011 at 18:36

Living in your own individual world without any outside help from another
human being?

gladiolys January 14, 2011 at 18:35

To be able to act upon one’s own thoughts.

Babel6 January 14, 2011 at 18:35

It’s the new sponsor-name stuck all over Michael Schumacher’s F1 car and
some Spurs teams. No doubt soon to be all over the pigeon-chest of
Daaaaaaaaayyyyyvid Pec’ham.

Ed P January 14, 2011 at 18:33

Self-contained and free from outside influences or interference

icequeen January 14, 2011 at 18:33

Self determination.

Dennis January 14, 2011 at 18:30

The new system for naming Catholic children.

dak January 14, 2011 at 18:23

Independence from external influences.

Wouldn’t that be nice…

Bill
Sticker January 14, 2011 at 18:20

Independence or self reliance. To function without external control.

A state to be aspired to.

Dave H January 14, 2011 at 18:14

Autonomy is freedom. No need to ask for permission or seek approval from
others before acting.

Either that or it’s a state ruled by the Nestene Consciousness.

Um… that was intended to be humorous, but thinking about it, that’s what
the last government were trying to create, where we were all expected to think
approved thoughts generated by the central core. Scary.

JohnRS January 14, 2011 at 18:10

A mixture of:

The ability to take decisions for oneself.
Independent of outside
control.
Dependent on one’s own resources.

Brian January 14, 2011 at 18:04

Acting without needing the approval of others.

JuliaM January 14,
2011 at 17:57

Being free to act, without having to clear thongs with a higher authority
first.

JuliaM January
14, 2011 at 17:58

Things, even. Thongs should ALWAYS be referred to a higher authority.

Gloria Smudd
January 14, 2011 at 19:29

Thongs always refer themselves to a higher-something-or-other and all
seem to be made of cheese-wire after about 10 minutes.

Altogether, not a garment designed with the ‘ample’ woman in mind…

Gloria
Smudd January 14, 2011 at 19:46

Mind you, even the most flesh-slicing thong-wounds can be prevented
by a couple of expertly-placed Werthers if, for aesthetic reasons, one
cannot employ one’s upper-dentures as an effective barrier to intimate
harm ……

JuliaM January 14, 2011 at 20:03

Do you have to take the wrappers off firs…

No. Maybe TMI…

Gloria Smudd
January 14, 2011 at 20:31

A waxed paper can, in itself, prove resistant to a sharp edge.
Therefore a case may be made for leaving the wrapper on. Alternatively, a
sticky-sweet has, by its nature, a certain adhesive quality all its own
and can, in the hands of an expert, be swiftly and almost-permanently
placed on even damp skin to great effect. The decision is yours, Julia,
should you ever find yourself in possession of a couple of un-sucked
Werthers and a sore-cleft situation.

Engineer
January 14, 2011 at 21:06

Have you tried a larger size? (Don’t go too large, or a pair of
braces may have to be deployed.)

Gloria
Smudd January 14, 2011 at 21:23

They don’t make a larger size, Engineer. I’m already stretching the
size 22. Cuts in something dreadful it does too. If Mr Smudd wasn’t
sooooooo keen on the ‘frillies’, I’d live in my roomy bloomers but
since he’s always home in time for Dickinson’s Real Deal, I barely get
half a day of comfort if I’m lucky.

Try not to dwell on it. It’ll only give you nightmares.

Engineer
January 14, 2011 at 22:21

Perhaps some DIY modification might help. Parting the narrow
strappy bits and inserting a lengthening piece might help. I’m sure
B&Q could furnish some fencing chain or similar. By installing a
hook at one end of each strappy bit, you could even use the links of
the chain to provide built-in adjustment. Combined with the braces,
you could get comfort and security, with an inbuilt quick-release is
Mr Smudd is in a hurry and you’re willing. Where there’s a will
there’s a way. Or a relative.

Gloria
Smudd January 14, 2011 at 22:49

It’s wiser not to encourage Mr Smudd to turn his mind to a length
of anything, let alone fencing chain. And heaven forfend he should be
driven to seek out his pliers. It’s best, all round, to leave well
alone.

Believe me.

Ben January 15, 2011 at 02:03

Only if you thing a thong to the higher authority?

TimByDay January 14, 2011 at 17:56

A state of being free from any direct control

John Prescott or
something equally dumb January 14, 2011 at
17:51

As some are claiming prizes – can I have all the pies for my double
contribution?

Andrew P Withers
January 14, 2011 at 17:49

Free from the decisions of others

I claim my £5 prize

lenko January 14, 2011 at 17:47

OR…

A country or person who tells the Americans to go f*ck themselves.

lenko January 14, 2011 at 17:46

A state of being self-ruled. A country which is an autonomy.

Do I win a car?

Keith Hart January 14, 2011 at 17:45

Someone (or a body) has authority to act on their own behalf without
reference?

Obligato January 14, 2011 at 17:44

Capable of action independent of outside instruction

Hence not applicable to most people under 25 ( frustrated employer
speaking)

John Adlington
January 14, 2011 at 17:44

Autonomy is the ability to formulate ones own opinions coupled with the
freedom to base ones actions upon those opinions or the choices that derive
from them.

Ray January 14, 2011 at 17:38

If something is autonomous it can act on its own – both in terms of being
able to, and being allowed to

Sister Eva
Longoria January 14, 2011 at 17:38

Is it the academic study of Auts?

Gildas theMonk
January 14, 2011 at 19:02

Oh no, not again….

Chris January 14, 2011 at 17:36

Making up your own mind

Snowolf January
14, 2011 at 17:34

To me it means the freedom to make decisions and act in a fashion which the
individual or organisation wishes, without the interference, control or
influence of other individuals or organisations.

I suppose there can be degrees of autonomy.

John Prescott or
something equally dumb January 14, 2011 at
17:34

Having many automobiles …. or, more unreasonably, being self reliant