ABSTRACT
The ‘making it real’ theme of this collection concerns the ways in which theories or conceptualisations of vulnerability and autonomy are and/or can be ‘made real’ through legal structures and practice. This introductory essay discusses autonomy and vulnerability as words/ideas with multiple meanings within legal doctrines and legal discourse. These meanings include the traditional equivalence in law between autonomy and the liberty of a normatively invulnerable liberal subject, the very different idea of autonomy as (necessarily) relational, and the burgeoning theoretical discourse around vulnerability as a legally meaningful idea. In this introductory essay, the author sets out her own approach to/articulation of vulnerability and relational autonomy as legally meaningful concepts, together with suggestions for making these conceptual frameworks ‘real’ in the law relating to advance planning and court appointed/statutory guardianship (as areas of law with particular relevance for older adults).
Hall, Margaret Isabel, Relational Autonomy, Vulnerability Theory, Older Adults And The Law: Making It Real (February 1, 2019).
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