Agency as a functional kind

DAVOODY BENI M.

MIND & LANGUAGE, cilt.41, sa.1, ss.51-65, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 41 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1111/mila.12563
  • Dergi Adı: MIND & LANGUAGE
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Philosopher's Index, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.51-65
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: agency, counterfactual models, free energy principle, functional kinds, super-explanatory property
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This article seeks to define the genuine (functional) kind of agency by identifying its essential property. In the context of this article, the essential property, also termed super-explanatory, is the ability of an agent to make counterfactual models of outcomes of its actions. This article adopts a naturalist approach, informed by advancements in computational neuroscience, to define the functional kind of agency. The offered definition is deliberately flexible and inclusive, encompassing manifestations of agency in both natural and artificial domains.