Autonomy is thought to be the ethical and political task of our time, and it is true. Autonomy is considered primarily as the fundamental notion of modern practical philosophy and it is with it that an attempt is made to give a real account of the connections between the different fundamental moral concepts of freedom, equality, solidarity, justice, good and virtue.
The contemporary normative philosophy that authors such as H. Frankfurt and Domenechse advocate, define autonomy as the capacity that people have to critically reflect on their preferences, desires, desires, etc., first-hand, and also that capacity to give them acceptance or trying to change them in light of preferences and higher order values.
The previous explanation proposes a formal cognitive and rational dimension of autonomous behavior, emphasizing the component of self-modeling, in the sense of the capacity that one has for self-government, self-knowledge, self-control, self-choice, etc., which obviously and by principle, are part of a real autonomous existence.
Among the fundamental conceptions that we have, the normative concept of autonomy appears, defined as the overcoming from the egocentric point of view, which means that capacity to position oneself in an otherwise disinterested and impartial way to everything that has been called as moral point of view.
This appreciation was conceived by Kant, and developed as the center of his ethics where the strictly moral dimension of autonomous life is collected. Parodying the teacher Sepúlveda (2003: 29), the will that allows itself to be linked to the general interest can be considered autonomous, regardless of whether it is decided to do otherwise.
Now, the moral autonomy studied in the different cognitive-evolutionary theories that Piaget and Kohlberg proclaimed, maintain the concept of autonomy disclosed by Kant, as the supreme principle of morality. The problem about what to do with any feeling or emotion is solved for these authors, by an act of cognitive judgment, preferably rational, autonomous and altruistic.
Autonomy follows a principle or a rule that is considered something internal to the consciousness of the person who has taken it as his own, through a process of progressive and autonomous construction. In autonomy, it is considered as a rule to follow that a result of a decision is free and worthy of being respected to the extent that there is basic consent.
This principle or law, makes it necessary to become aware within the communities of Higher Education Institutions, since the fact of implementing certain important changes, inevitably demands to implement reforms in the contents and in some modalities, which results in a certain more flexible institutional management, thus allowing the possibility of a totally free will on the part of each of its members.
An approach to the teaching-learning process.
When defining learning from the cognitive point of view, one can think of an active process by which a subject modifies his or her behavior, thus giving what has been learned a very personal character. As described by cognotivists, everything is given in the learning of ideas or other complex mental units that do not respond to any mechanical habit or stimulus-response link.
It could be said then, that it is in learning where the student builds his knowledge when he assumes a truly leading attitude, without counting on the permanent help of his teacher, who at a certain moment could guide him in his process, and also facilitate the means that are necessary.
It is in learning that the main content of what is to be learned must be discovered independently, long before it can be equated within a cognitive structure.
Teaching is considered as a process of assimilation of knowledge, skills and methods that serve to develop a cognitive activity, which is carried out under the guidance of an educator.
It is also known as an organized process that encompasses in a whole the transfer of the content of instruction and learning, as well as the active appropriation by the student. In that order of ideas, it is considered that it is the teacher who must carry out a process of directing the cognitive activity of the learner, in order to enable him to assimilate knowledge, habits and obvious skills, in such a way, that the student transforms his behavior and can use what he has learned in his daily practices and also achieve the approach and resolution of new problems that may arise in different routine contexts.
The terms teaching and learning are brought together, when in reality it is thought that teaching does not exist without learning and vice versa, and that it was learning socially and historically that both men and women discovered that it was possible to teach and at the same time work different ways and methods of teaching; then, it is impossible to forget that learning preceded teaching.
Some autonomous learning
It is known that the apprentice never learns alone but rather that learning is a process of social mediation in specific contexts. The participation and interaction of those who learn within a constructive social environment, where they receive the specific contribution of colleagues, teachers, family and friends, may allow the commitment that a human being would have in their own learning process and consequently of transformation of its reality.
The learning facilitated by the actors of the process, must promote that the apprentice, that is to say who learns, develops and becomes aware of his own process, which would mean that he is autonomous to the extent that each one builds his learning process and generates it starting from their own reality and therefore for their own reality.
This is how autonomy can be achieved through personal activities of learning, creation, experimentation, or also, through a personal and cooperative work contract.
Being cognitive strategies those that allow us to know, recognize, evaluate, build and improve our learning processes and procedures, it implies that the learner must self-direct, and be able to achieve autonomy, It is in the experiences obtained in the classroom of class, in business and in everyday life, that these become those situations in which learning is facilitated and built.
It cannot be ignored that the processes of autonomous learning must include the construction of a culture of thought based on classroom experiences where various forces such as language, values, expectations and habits are combined. where they operate in unison in order to express and reinforce what is considered good thinking.
2.1.4 Autonomy considerations
Autonomy is the ethical and political task of our time. Autonomy has thus become, if not the category, at least the fundamental notion of modern practical philosophy. It can be said that with it we try to fully account for the connections between the different moral and fundamental concepts of freedom, equality, solidarity, justice, good or virtue.
Therefore, it is important to clarify that autonomy here will be understood, in general, according to the definition proposed in Hennessey (2003: 4): Since all learning must focus on allowing the optimal or adequate interaction of the human being with his reality, facilitated learning By the actors of the process, it must promote that the apprehension develops and becomes aware of their own process, that is, is autonomous, to the extent that each person builds their learning process and generates their learning from their own reality and for their own reality.
In contemporary normative philosophy, H Frankfurt, G Dworkin or A Domenechse define autonomy as the ability of people to critically reflect on their preferences, desires, desires, beliefs, etc., of the first order and the ability to accept or try change them in light of preferences and higher order values (Vilar 1997).
Here we are faced with an epistemic concept. This explanation of the concept of autonomy accounts for the formal cognitive and rational dimension of autonomous behavior, emphasizing the self-modeling component in the sense of the capacity for self-government, self-knowledge, self-control, self-choice, etc. that are undoubtedly part of an autonomous existence.
Another fundamental conception in this sense is the normative concept of autonomy, described as overcoming the egocentric point of view, that is, autonomy as the ability to place oneself in a general, disinterested, impartial point of view, which has been called "point of view from a moral point of view ”. This is the concept that Kant developed as the center of his ethics and that includes the strictly moral dimension of autonomous life: “That will that allows itself to be linked to the general interest is autonomous, even when it could decide to do the opposite” (Sepúlveda 2003: 29).
2.1.4.1 Moral autonomy in cognitive-evolutionary theories
The same María Gabriela Sepúlveda (2003) in her essay on Moral Autonomy, collects the thoughts on the cognitive-evolutionary theories of the moral development of Piaget and Kohlberg, and affirms that they maintain the concept of autonomy of Kant seen previously, as the supreme principle of morality.
He goes on to say that it must be remembered that for Kant the possibility of autonomy is essentially in his possibility of a totally free will and not as beings bound by the sensible world. The problem of what to do about any feeling or emotion is solved for these authors, by an act of cognitive judgment, preferably rational, autonomous and altruistic.
In autonomy, a rule, a principle or law is followed, which is considered internal to the consciousness of the person who has internalized it through a process of progressive and autonomous construction.
In autonomy, the rule is the result of a free decision worthy of respect to the extent that there is mutual consent.
Therefore, about this rule, awareness must be raised within the communities of Higher Education Institutions, since in order to implement the changes, it is necessary to implement reforms in the contents and in the modalities that the organization assumes, and therefore, there must be a more flexible institutional management that allows the possibility of free will on the part of each of its members.
2.1.4.2 An approach to the Teaching-Learning process
From the cognitive aspect, learning is defined as an active process by which the subject modifies his behavior, giving a personal character to what has been learned. According to cognitivists, it consists of the learning of ideas or other complex mental units, which do not respond to stimulus-response links or mechanical habits.
If the previous point of view is taken into account, discovery learning would be one in which the student builds their knowledge autonomously, and without the permanent help of the educator or teacher, and that requires a method of active search on the part of the student. that learns, either inductive or hypothetical-deductive.
In the same sense, and in a broader way, it can be said that it is in learning where the student builds his knowledge assuming a leading attitude, without the permanent help of the educator, who can nevertheless guide the process and facilitate the media.
It is in learning that the main content of what is to be learned must be independently discovered before it can be assimilated into the cognitive structure.
As for teaching, this is considered as the process of assimilation of knowledge and skills as well as methods to develop cognitive activity that is carried out under the direction of an educator during teaching practice. It could also be imagined as the organized process that encompasses in a whole the transfer of the content of instruction and learning, as well as the active appropriation by the student. That is, the teacher must carry out a process of directing the student's cognitive activity to enable him to assimilate knowledge, habits and, therefore, his abilities, in such a way that the student transforms his behavior and can use what learned in their daily practices and at the same time manage to address and solve new problems in different contexts (Hennessey, 2003).
It would be possible to bring together the terms of teaching and learning when it is thought that teaching does not exist without learning and vice versa, and that both men and women were learning socially and historically, they discovered that it was possible to teach and work different ways and teaching methods; This is how it should not be forgotten that learning preceded teaching.
2.1.4.3 About autonomous learning
Now, as said before, the learner does not learn alone, but learning is a process of social mediation in specific contexts. The participation and interaction of the learner with a constructive social environment where they receive the specific contribution of colleagues, teachers, family members and friends belonging to a reference group, may allow or facilitate the commitment of a human being in their own learning process and, therefore, of transformation of its reality.
Como todo aprendizaje, debe enfocarse a permitir la adecuada interacción del ser humano con su realidad; el aprendizaje facilitado por los actores del proceso debe promover que el aprehendiente (quien aprende) desarrolle y tome conciencia de su propio proceso, es decir, que sea autónomo en la medida en que cada cual construya su proceso de aprendizaje y genere su aprendizaje a partir de su propia realidad y para su propia realidad. Igualmente, la autonomía se lograría a través de actividades personales de aprendizaje, de creación, de experimentación, o bien mediante un contrato de trabajo personal y cooperativo
Learning is a process that implements cognitive and metacongnitive strategies, Martí (1999), the former being processes aimed at "building meaning, producing knowledge, achieving understanding and remembering", and the latter "monitoring and exercising mental control over variables or intrinsic characteristics of the person, the task and the strategies in use and the environment "
Following Flavell, cited by Martí (1995), who distinguishes knowledge about people, tasks and strategies, as the three categories of knowledge, cognitive strategies would be those that allow us to know, recognize, evaluate, build and improve our processes and procedures Learning.
These strategic processes mean that the learner must direct himself, be able to achieve autonomy, in which the teacher is the facilitator; the group is the support; classroom, business and everyday experiences will be the situations in which learning is facilitated and built.
These autonomous learning processes must include the construction of a culture of thought based on classroom experiences, understood as an area in which various forces, such as language, values, expectations and habits work together to express and reinforce what is good thinking.
Strategies are understood as those procedures that involve a sequence of actions carried out in a deliberate and planned way.
