The book pays homage to and deepens the well-known themes of On Liberty by John Stuart Mill and Harm to Self by Joel Feinberg. It explores topics such as the arguments for and against legal paternalism and antipaternalism, the value of individual autonomy in support of legal antipaternalism, the slippery slope argument, and moral perfectionism in favor of paternalism. But is the value of individual autonomy an unstoppable force? Is it an irresistible argumentative force? Is its lightness unbearable?
The central question debated by legal paternalists and antipaternalists is the extent to which individuals can legitimately make decisions about their own bodies and lives, provided they do no harm to others. In order to address that question, the book presents expert analyses of highly controversial moral and legal issues regarding the legitimacy or illegitimacy of practices such as prostitution, violent sadomasochistic behavior, drug trafficking and drug consumption, euthanasia, assisted suicide, extreme sports, and voluntary slavery contracts. Pursuing a legal, moral and philosophical approach based on the author’s extensive research, it makes valuable contributions to the fields of legal and moral ethics, legal and moral philosophy, and criminal law and doctrine.