 Agency without AgentsJohn Roberts Chapter 9 in Belief and Organization, 2012, pp 144-162 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract In this chapter I want to use the Buddhist notion of agency without agents to explore the relationship between identity and ethical conduct. At one level the notion of agency without agents seems simply nonsensical; the two terms require and imply each other such that there could not be agency without an agent. Arguably what makes humans capable of ethical conduct – capable of agency rather than mere behaviour – is precisely our awareness of the self as agent and the choice that this makes possible. Ethical agency needs a self-conscious agent. In what follows, however, I want to explore the ways in which self-identity can prove an obstacle to ethics; where my own preoccupation with my self and defending my identity effectively forecloses the possibility of ethics. Here belief in the self – in my substance as an agent – seems to blind me to the reality of my agency and its consequences. Two examples may serve to illustrate some of the ways identity and ethics can easily come to work against each other Keywords: Corporate Governance; Ethical Violence; Mirror Stage; Corporate Governance Literature; Mere Behaviour (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-26310-0_9 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan |
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