Blog #2: The Fundamentals of Human Agency
“Don’t tell me what to do!” said basically every kid in America.
Let’s be honest. We’ve all gone through that phase. As toddlers, we were masters of recklessness and insubordination. We jumped on the couch, drew on the walls with crayon, rocked the house and basically drove our parents crazy. Time-outs? Bring it. Those infamous two-minutes of corner solitude were worth every second we let loose and did whatever our hearts desired.
This freedom to choose what we do and when we want to do it is called agency. Or, in more sophisticated terms, agency is what allows you to be an independent individual not ruled by force or opposition. According to Izenberg, a professor of Humanities at UCI, agency is a form of action that is free, undetermined, and informed by introspection and reflection (slide 2). To me, agency is when you have full, conscious control of yourself and your actions. This is what separate the living from the nonliving.
I’d like to think of myself as an agent, a unique individual with unique thoughts and complete control of myself. However, Izenberg argues that no one is ever a pure agent because we are subjected to multiple forms of determination. Determination is the act of coming to an end. We are subject to natural determination (our response to our instincts), structural determination (our response to our community or government), and cultural determination (our response to what we think is right or wrong).
I think inherently, our actions will be subjected to some form of determination. As humans, we all desire a sense of acceptance and belonging, so we constantly update ourselves to what’s “trending” and “socially acceptable.” All these things that we surround ourselves with ultimately influence us and our decisions. More often than not, we end up making decisions based on how people will judge us and how we will be perceived, whether or not those actions will be beneficial to us.
However, we shouldn’t make rash decisions in order to be accepted. Whenever we make these decisions that glorify kleos to be “cool” or “accepted,” we have to ask ourselves if those fleeting moments of fame are worth the consequences of our actions. Unfortunately, we don’t qualify for time-outs in the adult world. As adults, we have to be cognizant that every choice we make has a consequence. That said, it is only logical that we make choices based on what’s “right” and what’s “wrong”. We have the agency to make decisions that shape our fate. That is why we must choose to make decisions that are best for us in order to have a more favorable future.
In Homer’s epic, The Iliad, we find that agency is a luxury reserved only for gods and kings. In a world where people were always subject to determination and fate, agency didn’t exist for everyday people like us. Mortals were weak and subordinate to authority whether they believed in the morality of their leaders or not. Even heroes glorified in immortal kleos for their strength and aggression did not have agency because their actions were naturally governed by the gods.
However, Thersites, the ugliest man of Achea, was one who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed in. Though he knew he would be punished for speaking his mind, he made the choice to be an individual in an unthinking, conforming society. To stand up in the face of adversity is to have courage and bravery. This is the agency at its core.
No one liked Thersites, but we need more agents like him to speak up against the problems of our generation. We live in 2014 and there is still racism, discrimination, and hate on our streets. Countries are destroying each other, girls are being traded, and war is still prominent because there is too much hate. Like Thersites, we have the power to be an individual who thinks and makes rational decisions that benefit ourselves and our communities. Though at times we may be influenced by sources of determination, we are ultimately in control of our own actions. We are agents that can speak up and use our voice and knowledge to make a difference in the world.
We are the controllers of our fate.
