Restoring autonomy : symmetry and asymmetry in care relationships
Date
2011
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust
Abstract
In this article the complexity of a professional care relationship as a whole of
symmetrical and asymmetrical, formal and informal dimensions, is presented. Its
ethical simplicity, however, is safeguarded as long as the telos of a care relationship
is seen as the restoration of the autonomy of the care receiver. Autonomy is
interpreted as the capability of persons to develop their uniqueness throughout their
life course. The undeniable asymmetry of the care relationship is an essential, but
temporary moment in its dynamics. The dynamics of a care relationship corresponds
to the heart of the Christian ethos: in the Christian narrative, the asymmetry of
humiliation precedes the exaltation, understood as the restoration of human dignity
as ‘living upright’. The theological concept of exaltation can be interpreted as God’s
‘care for autonomy’ in a ethics of care.
Description
CITATION: De Lange, F. 2011. Restoring autonomy : symmetry and asymmetry in care relationships. Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, 52(1):61-68, doi:10.5952/52-0-38.
The original publication is available at http://ngtt.journals.ac.za
The original publication is available at http://ngtt.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Autonomy, Care relationships
Citation
De Lange, F. 2011. Restoring autonomy : symmetry and asymmetry in care relationships. Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, 52(1):61-68, doi:10.5952/52-0-38.