Insofar as the powerlessness and surrender Alcoholics Anonymous asks of its participants is are directed toward a future in which they are more capable of autonomy, and of resisting and making productive use of desires which do not correspond well with their long term projects, we have little reason to expect The Twelve-Steps to undermine autonomy.We might ask, finally, what distinguishes spiritual demands that we ought to beconcerned about from those likely to increase our capacity to live autonomous lives. On the onehand, we can objectively determine whether a set of spiritual practices are connected to our ownlives, struggles, and goals, or to some external ideal which may lead us away from this importantcontext. But on the other hand it is also true that the attitude which we bring to spirituality candetermine our experience: if we are seeking to renounce ourselves and our responsibilities, surelywe will find just about any ideal adequate. And on the other extreme, if we are looking todevelop self-mastery via assertion of our will, then we may overshoot and fall back into the problems of self-willing and indulgence. However, if our attitude is geared toward establishing arelationship with ourselves centered around being better equipped for the problems we are likelyto encounter, the concerns about surrender and powerlessness seem to be a moot point. Care of the self aims toward this spiritual equipping, and so does Alcoholics Anonymous.
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