Dear Francois,
Francois Nsenga wrote:
“Wouldn't it be helpful to conceive Agency - has it ever been conceived this way?? - as direct and/or mediated? At occasions mediated through other humans and through non-humans and very often through tools?! It is in this latter sense - of Agency somehow modified through translation - that I understood Latour's and Terry's concept of agency. Wrong or right?? A commoner's thought!”
The question of agency is subject to extensive inquiry and considered, reflective research over the years. Many serious thinkers have worked on the concept.
You can read a good summary article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a free, open-access reference work. You’ll find the article at URL:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/agency/ <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/agency/>
This article has links to several relevant topics that have articles in the SEP:
action | agency: shared | Anscombe Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret | autonomy: personal | Davidson Donald | events | feminist philosophy topics: perspectives on autonomy | free will | incompatibilism: (nondeterministic) theories of free will | intention | practical reason | practical reason: and the structure of actions
The topic of shared agency is especially relevant to your inquiry, along with the topic of practical reason and the structure of actions.
A group of philosophers works directly on this topic at
https://sites.google.com/site/societyforphilosophyofagency/ <https://sites.google.com/site/societyforphilosophyofagency/>
Those who wish to pursue this topic in depth are welcome to join The Society for Philosophy of Agency. Membership includes philosophers, neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and theologians, among others. Membership is free and open to anyone who is interested.
The uses and meanings of the word vary, depending on the field and the frame of consideration. If you are interested in a deeper look, you’ll find the Oxford English Dictionary definitions and exemplars for the word “agency” attached to this email.
Yours,
Ken
Ken Friedman, Ph.D., D.Sc. (hc), FDRS | Editor-in-Chief | 设计 She Ji. The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation | Published by Tongji University in Cooperation with Elsevier | URL: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/she-ji-the-journal-of-design-economics-and-innovation/
Chair Professor of Design Innovation Studies | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| Eminent Scholar | College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning | University of Cincinnati ||| Email [log in to unmask] | Academia https://tongji.academia.edu/KenFriedman | D&I http://tjdi.tongji.edu.cn
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