Agency Between Freedom/Action and Determinism/Structure: Comment on van den Berg and AmasyalI

Abstract

Van den Berg and Amasyali make a persuasive (though not yet definitive) case that, in practice, appeals to ideas about agency do little to advance our sociological understanding. However, they seem to treat the antithesis of this (vague as it is) notion, explanatory determinism, as if it were stable. Not only are the two concepts equally paradoxical, but one calls out for the other, and we cannot criticize and dispense with one while retaining its twin.

Citation

Martin, J.L. (2025), "Agency Between Freedom/Action and Determinism/Structure: Comment on van den Berg and AmasyalI", Dahms, H.F. (Ed.) The Future of Agency (Current Perspectives in Social Theory, Vol. 41), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0278-120420250000041005