Being human : the problem of agency / Margaret S. Archer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Archer, Margaret S. (Margaret Scotford), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agent (Philosophy).

Philosophical anthropology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 323 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Humanity and the very notion of the human subject are under threat from postmodernist thinking which has declared not only the 'Death of God' but also the 'Death of Man'. This book is a revindication of the concept of humanity, rejecting contemporary social theory that seeks to diminish human properties and powers. Archer argues that being human depends on an interaction with the real world in which practice takes primacy over language in the emergence of human self-consciousness, thought, emotionality and personal identity - all of which are prior to, and more basic than, our acquisition of a social identity. This original and provocative new book from leading social theorist Margaret S. Archer builds on the themes explored in her previous books Culture and Agency (CUP 1988) and Realist Social Theory (CUP 1995). It will be required reading for academics and students of social theory, cultural theory, political theory, philosophy and theology.

Contents:

pt. I. The impoverishment of humanity

- 1. Resisting the dissolution of humanity

- 2. Modernity's man

- 3. Society's being: humanity as the gift of society

pt. II. The emergence of self-consciousness. 4. The primacy of practice

- 5. The practical order as pivotal

pt. III. The emergence of personal identity. 6. Humanity and reality: emotions as commentaries on human concerns

- 7. Personal identity: the inner conversation and emotional elaboration

pt. IV. The emergence of social identity. 8. Agents: active and passive

- 9. Actors and commitment

Conclusion: the re-emergence of humanity.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-12166-3

0-511-48873-4

0-511-04689-8

0-511-15366-X

0-511-32801-X

1-280-43007-9

0-511-17411-X

0-521-79564-8

OCLC:

171135133