Motives and agency
Jesper Doepping (jesper who-is-at axp.psl.ku.dk)
Fri, 27 Oct 1995 10:35:16 +0100
The discussion of agency has really been interesting. There is however one
thing which keeps puzzling me. The problem starts the wich to keep the
unigueness of the individual in focus, this I think is a legitimate focus,
however, I do not understand why the uniqueness should be explaned or
understood with reference to motives. I know this in a large extend is in
line with Leontjev, psychodynamics and many more.
The problem is, for me to see, that by explaining agency with
reference to motives (whether they are individual, social or merged), I
think we very easy starts explaining the agency with something which is
outside the agency. In my my understanding it very easy becomes an external
conditions which determies agency and force us not to look at the agency,
but at the motives. The same kind of argument could be made if one explains
agency with reference to the social.=20
For those reasons I have increasingly come to think about motives or
intention as something which emerges and develops trough the activity. The
person might tell a story about his or her motives or intentions, but in
some sense it seems like an account which is produced after the activity and
not something which starts the activity. An intersting example is for
instance the classroom talk, where it is my experience that when you ask
people why they said something, they very often are unable to answer and
thinks it is a funny question to ask. The uttereance was more part of an
ongoing activity in the classroom and not clearly motivated.
Jesper D=F4pping =20
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Jesper who-is-at axp.psl.ku.dk =20
Jesper D=F6pping =20
Psychological Laboratory=20
Univ. of Copenhagen =20
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FAX : +45 35 32 87 45 =20
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