heteronomy

[ het-uh-ron-uh-mee ]

noun

1. the condition of being under the domination of an outside authority, either human or divine.

Word History and Origins

Origin of heteronomy¹

First recorded in 1815–25; hetero- + -nomy

Example Sentences

“Heteronomy” is therefore applied by Kant to all other ethical systems, inasmuch as they place the individual in subjection to external laws of conduct.

From Project Gutenberg

If it is true that a condition of "heteronomy" always precedes that of "autonomy," then the outer sanction is the indispensable condition of the evolution of moral feelings.

From Project Gutenberg

The characteristic of Morality thus described is its essential inwardness, and the sovereignty of the conscience over all heteronomy.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet its purport seems ultimately to be that the objective order is misconceived when it is regarded as an external or quasi-physical order: as a law written up and sanctioned with an external authority—as, in Kant's words, a heteronomy.

From Project Gutenberg

It is called autonomy of Will and is contrasted with heteronomy.

From Project Gutenberg