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Agency (philosophy)

About: Agency (philosophy) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10461 publications have been published within this topic receiving 350831 citations. The topic is also known as: Thought & Human agency.


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TL;DR: The authors argued that an examination of moral thinking in high-functioning autistic people supports a Kantian rather than a Humean account of moral agency, and that autistic individuals do not share the psychopath's amoralism.
Abstract: Psychopaths have long been of interest to moral philosophers, since a careful examination of their peculiar deficiencies may reveal what features are normally critical to the development of moral agency. What underlies the psychopath’s amoralism? A common and plausible answer to this question is that the psychopath lacks empathy. Lack of empathy is also claimed to be a critical impairment in autism, yet it is not at all clear that autistic individuals share the psychopath’s amoralism. How is empathy characterized in the literature, and how crucial is empathy, so described, to moral understanding and agency? I argue that an examination of moral thinking in high-functioning autistic people supports a Kantian rather than a Humean account of moral agency.

136 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Cecily Maller1
TL;DR: The value of using contemporary social practice theories in health research is that they reframe the way in which health outcomes can be understood and could inform more effective interventions that move beyond attitudes, behaviour and choices.
Abstract: The importance of recognising structure and agency in health research to move beyond methodological individualism is well documented. To progress incorporating social theory into health, researchers have used Giddens' and Bourdieu's conceptualisations of social practice to understand relationships between agency, structure and health. However, social practice theories have more to offer than has currently been capitalised upon. This article delves into contemporary theories of social practice as used in consumption and sustainability research to provide an alternative, and more contextualised means, of understanding and explaining human action in relation to health and wellbeing. Two key observations are made. Firstly, the latest formulations of social practice theory distinguish moments of practice performance from practices as persistent entities across time and space, allowing empirical application to explain practice histories and future trajectories. Secondly, they emphasise the materiality of everyday life, foregrounding things, technologies and other non-humans that cannot be ignored in a technologically dependent social world. In concluding, I argue the value of using contemporary social practice theories in health research is that they reframe the way in which health outcomes can be understood and could inform more effective interventions that move beyond attitudes, behaviour and choices.

136 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The role of social networks for individual social movement participation is discussed in this paper, where the authors argue that networks perform three fundamental functions in the process leading to participation and that they intervene at different moments along this process.
Abstract: While numerous studies stress the crucial role of networks for social movement participation, they generally do not specify how networks affect individual behaviors. This article clarifies the role of social networks for individual social movement participation. It argues that networks perform three fundamental functions in the process leading to participation and that they intervene at different moments along this process. First, networks socialize and build individual identities—a socialization function. Second, they offer participation opportunities to individuals who are culturally sensitive to a specific political issue—a structural-connection function. Third, they shape individual preferences before individuals decide to join a move-ment—a decision-shaping function. These network functions allow us to disentangle the mechanisms at work in the process of participation. They also integrate structural and rationalist theories, which are often considered opposing explanations of individual movement part...

136 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore both the use and limitations of a decentred theory of policy networks and network governance, and propose to use textual and/or ethnographic analysis to explore the meanings found in a policy arena, where appropriate, to highlight competing, diverse sets of meaning in that policy arena.
Abstract: doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2008.01736.x DECENTRING POLICY NETWORKS: A THEORETICAL AGENDA MARK BEVIR AND DAVID RICHARDS This introduction starts by specifying the theoretical and analytical framework underpinning the range of essays in this special issue. It then provides an overview of the existing literature on policy networks and network governance in order to identify what a decentred approach might contribute. What follows is an account of decentred theory, a discussion of the potential alternatives it can offer to existing accounts and how these might be achieved through reconstruct- ing networks by appealing to notions of situated agency and tradition; it concludes by considering the potential methodologies to be employed, with particular emphasis on ethnography. INTRODUCTION Policy networks consist of governmental and societal actors whose interactions with one another give rise to policies. They are actors linked through informal practices as well as (or even instead of) formal institutions. Typically, they operate through inter- dependent relationships, with a view to trying to secure their individual goals by col- laborating with each other. Policy networks have long been a topic of study in the social sciences. More recently, they have been central to the literature on governance, which is often described as rule by and through networks. The essays in this special issue explore both the use and limitations of a decentred theory of policy networks and network governance. To decentre is to focus on the social construction of a practice through the ability of individuals to create and act on meanings. It is to unpack a practice in terms of the disparate and contingent beliefs and actions of individuals. A decentred governance approach involves challenging the idea that inexorable, imper- sonal forces are driving a shift from hierarchies to networks. Instead, it suggests that networks are constructed differently by many actors against the background of diverse traditions. Adopting decentred theory, the contributors to this special issue attempt: • to use textual and/or ethnographic analysis to explore the meanings found in a policy arena; • where appropriate, to highlight competing, diverse sets of meaning in that policy arena; • to reflect on the contingent historical roots of the relevant meanings – the traditions against the background of which the meanings arose. This introductory essay explores the theory behind this research agenda, locating it in relation to the current literature on policy networks. The concluding essay both sum- marizes the main themes of the papers and reflects on the experience of working with decentred theory, examining its strengths and weaknesses, the problems that arose in applying it, and lessons for future research. Mark Bevir is Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley. David Richards is a Reader in the Department of Politics, University of Sheffield. Public Administration Vol. 87, No. 1, 2009 (3–14) © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

136 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper reviewed three recent developments in international cooperation theory: the introduction of nonstate actors, the study of norms and ideas, and increased examination of the effectiveness or impact of international cooperation.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract This article reviews three recent developments in international cooperation theory: the introduction of nonstate actors, the study of norms and ideas, and increased examination of the effectiveness, or impact, of international cooperation. Through the lens of the agent-structure debate, we critique the literature that addresses these themes. We argue, first, for a view of structure that goes beyond material properties; second, that more attention could be paid to what distinguishes agency in actors; and third, that this would provide insights into how reflexivity and learning, as well as preference and identity formation, contribute to structural transformation in the international system through iterated processes of cooperation. We also develop ways of applying the agent-structure debate to empirical as well as metatheoretical questions. The article concludes by discussing directions for further research.

136 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20247
20235,872
202212,259
2021566
2020532
2019559