28 mar 2011

Autonomy, Relatedness, Competence

Those are three basic ingredients for human satisfaction. As a child I enjoyed the autonomy I did have. I could go where I wanted on my bike. But being a child is not an especially autonomous phase of life. I had to be in school every day. I did not have the freedom to decide on my own religious practices.

Relatedness was also a double-edge sword. I had a family and felt part of that, and friends at school, but as a child one's status is low within the family and the peer group is not freely chosen.

Competence is a another matter. I was good at some things and not at others, but as a child the world defines your competence in very specific ways: you don't have the autonomy to say you aren't interested in being competent at something.

4 comentarios:

Peter dijo...

Autonomy/Liberty, Relatedness/Fraternity, Competence/Equality -
Aren't these the three areas of learning at each stage of development in becoming a human being? How much of each one can need and accommodate.

Jonathan dijo...

I don't see any relation between égalité and competence. After all, competence is one thing that makes us unequal.

Peter dijo...

I was thinking that without equal (fair play) opportunities to pursue our different competencies, only certain competencies are endorsed or allowed. Which I thought was part of your point.

Jonathan dijo...

Ok. I get what you are saying.