Talk: Hans Briegel (Innsbruck) & Thomas Müller (Konstanz)

Title:

Agency as an emergent physical phenomenon

Abstract:

Agency is an everyday phenomenon, but it is also a philosophical and a physical conundrum. We readily attribute agency to ourselves, to our fellow human beings, and to many animals – and soon, perhaps, also to certain robots. But it is not really clear what exactly it is that we are attributing, and how agency can fit into the natural world.

The problem of agency can be illustrated by considering scientific experiments. As agents, we can meaningfully influence the world, and as scientists, we use these agentive capabilities to conduct experiments to understand nature. But at the level of the physical interactions that many of our experiments are about, there is no agency. Agency, that is, does not seem to be fundamental, and may therefore be a candidate for reduction. On the other hand, agency is invoked as an unanalysed primitive in some foundational discussions, e.g., in the QBist approach to quantum mechanics. Which position is right? Can agency be physically real? And if so, how?

In my talk I discuss an approach to agency modelling based on collaborative work with Hans Briegel (Innsbruck). I will sketch an understanding of agency as an emergent phenomenon that incorporates embodiment, learning, and historicity -- based on, but also going beyond physical principles.