Description
Book SynopsisAre companies, churches, and states genuine agents? Or are they just collections of individual agents that give a misleading impression of unity? This question is important, since the answer dictates how we should go about explaining the behaviour of these entities and whether we should treat them as responsible and accountable in the manner of individuals. Group Agency offers a new approach to that question and is relevant, therefore, in a range of fields from philosophy to law, politics, and the social sciences. Christian List and Philip Pettit take the line that there really are group or corporate agents, over and above the individual agents who compose them, and that a proper social science and a proper approach to law, morality, and politics have to take account of this fact. Unlike some earlier defences of group agency, their account is entirely unmysterious in character and, despite not being technically difficult, is grounded in cutting-edge work in social choice theory, econom
Trade ReviewWithout a doubt, List and Pettit accomplish their threefold task of establishing the logical possibility of group agents, explaining the relation of design to the performance of group agents, and arguing in favour of holding these agents morally responsible ... there is a great deal to learn from this book and it ought to be required reading for anyone interested in group agency and responsibility. * Zachary J. Goldberg, The Philosophical Quarterly *
Group Agency is convincing and illuminating. * David-Hillel Ruben, Times Literary Supplement *
fascinating and enjoyable ... there is much to ponder, and much to learn from, in this lively work. * Thomas H. Smith, Mind *
the judgement aggregation problem is a significant and neglected aspect of group agency, and List and Pettits discussion of this problem is important and enlightening. * Robert Sugden, Economics and Philosophy *
Table of ContentsI: THE LOGICAL POSSIBILITY OF GROUP AGENTS ; II: THE ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN OF GROUP AGENTS ; III: THE NORMATIVE STATUS OF GROUP AGENTS
