Abstract
This paper focuses on one of the major controversies of collective action, i.e. Shared Agency. The objective of my paper is to explain the relevance of Shared Agency in the Theory of Collective Action where I have dealt with questions like—Is it possible to consider one as an agent or as the same agent when she performs in a shared action? How can we talk of shared agency, even when an action is being performed by different individuals in a group or of a group? Where is the notion of “agency” located in a shared action? Based on the seminal paper, “Shared Intention” by Michael Bratman, my objective here is to present and analyse the notion of shared agency in terms of meshing sub-plans and the impossibility of reducing the agency displayed in a shared action to a mere summation of intentions of individual agents, where the essence of shared agency lies in cooperation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bratman, M. E. (1987a). Intention, Plans, and Practical Reason (p. 4). Harvard University Press.
Bratman, M. E. (1987b). Intention, Plans, and Practical Reason (p. 2). Harvard University Press.
Bratman, M. E. (1999a). Faces of Intention (p. 5). Cambridge University Press.
Bratman, M. E. (1999b). Faces of Intention (p. 148). Cambridge University Press.
Bratman, M. E. (1999c). Faces of Intention (p. 94). Cambridge University Press.
Bratman, M. E. (1999d). Faces of Intention (p. 100). Cambridge University Press.
Bratman, M. E. (2014). Shared Agency: A planning theory of acting together (p. 41). Oxford University Press.
Bratman, M. E. (1993a). Shared Intention, In Ethics, p.104, Vol. 104, No.1: p.97–113. University of Chicago Press.
Bratman, M.E. (1993b). Shared Intention, In Ethics, p.103–107, Vol. 104, No.1: p.97–113. University of Chicago Press.
Bratman M. E. (2000). Reflection, planning and temporally extended agency. The Philosophical Review, Duke University, 109(1), 35–61. Accessed: 05-04-2017 17:27 UTC
Schweikard, D. P., Hans, B. S. (2021) Collective Intentionality. In Edward N. Zalta (ed.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2021 Edition).
Searle, J. R. (1990) Collective Intentions and Actions. In P. Cohen, J. Morgan and M.E. Polland, (eds.) Intentions in Communication. p. 401–415. Bradford Books MIIT press
Funding
Author declares that this research was not funded by any agency or an organisation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
It is to declare that the author has no actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship and publication of this article. The author has not received any financial support or non-financial support for the research, authorship and publication of the article. The author’s work or the article has not received any prior publication nor is under any consideration for publication elsewhere.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Hazarika, L. Michael Bratman: The Notion of Shared Agency in Meshing Sub-plans. J. Indian Counc. Philos. Res. 41, 83–92 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00314-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00314-z