English
The manner in which we acquire a relative autonomy in reality shares very little likeness with the conception of autonomy championed by the philosophical tradition, from Plato and the Stoicists up to Kant. Starting from an autobiographical account, the author describes certain essential stages in the acquisition of autonomy : the parents’ opening gift ; socialisation and various relational circles ; serendipity as antidote to the pressures of conformity ; progress in self-knowledge and in the perception of one’s relations with others.
