Autonomy is the condition of something that does not depend on anything else.
In politics, a self-governing city or region, e.g. Kurdistan, Kosovo or Hong KongSAR (not necessarily as a result of formal secession), is autonomous. True autonomy is usually a pre-requisite to separation or secession, however, but autonomy does not necessarily lead to separation. Autonomy is not independence.
In Eastern Christianity, autonomy is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop is appointed by a higher-ranking bishop, often a patriarch, who has no other authority over the autonomous church. This status is one step short of autocephaly.
In computing, a peripheral that can be used with the computer turned off (for example, a multifunction printer/copier/fax machine that can still copy and fax without the computer being turned on), is autonomous.
A company and its computer software package, which performs pattern recognition with a Bayesian algorithm, used by e.g. governments and intelligence agencies; see Autonomy Systems.
Within the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) in psychology, autonomy refers not to being independent, detached, or selfish but rather to the feeling of volition that can accompany any act, whether dependent or independent, collectivist or individualist.
