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The Natural Philosophy of Agency
Author(s) -
Gallagher Shaun
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2007.00067.x
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , sense of agency , action (physics) , epistemology , natural (archaeology) , order (exchange) , cognition , psychology , cognitive science , philosophy , neuroscience , business , physics , archaeology , finance , quantum mechanics , history
A review of several theories and brain‐imaging experiments shows that there is no consensus about how to define the sense of agency. In some cases the sense of agency is construed in terms of bodily movement or motor control, in others it is linked to the intentional aspect of action. For some theorists it is the product of higher‐order cognitive processes, for others it is a feature of first‐order phenomenal experience. In this article I propose a multiple aspects account of the sense of agency.