In All Things Act, Mercedes Valmisa argues that there is no such thing as an individual action and that all actions are constituted and performed by a diverse array of entities. Examining the collective character of action, this book rejects the view of agency as a capacity--especially one limited to humans--and redefines agency as an umbrella term for the concrete sociomaterial processes that emerge from the collaborative efforts of multiple entities acting together. Agency is not the faculty of an individual entity or self; it is always the function of a network or assembly of actors. The book also considers the significant role of nonhuman actors in these processes--things without intentions, will, or even awareness. This relational and collective approach shifts the focus away from mental states, emphasizing instead how humans and nonhumans alike participate in, contribute to, and shape the unfolding of events. This expanded conception of agency draws on Classical Chinese philosophy, analytic metaphysics on powers and emergence, scientific literature on self-organization, and insights from sociology, anthropology, and art to co-create a groundbreaking framework for understanding agency, with profound sociopolitical implications for contemporary life. If our actions are not simply the product of individual intentional selves but are instead constituted through dynamic interactions with a vibrant array of nonhuman actors, we are invited--and compelled--to rethink our identities, intentions, powers, emotions, responsibilities, institutions, policies, and values in ways that are less individualistic and more relational and interdependent.

About the Author
Mercedes Valmisa is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Gettysburg College. Her work focuses on philosophy of action and social philosophy. In her writing, she is interested in expanding the ways we think about agency through multicultural and interdisciplinary lenses. She is the author of Adapting: A Chinese Philosophy of Action (OUP, 2021).

Reviews
It is weird how seldom we encounter in the present age of globalization, in any corner of the world, authors bold enough to venture beyond the confines of their own intellectual heritage and to present us with efforts to uncover philosophical territory that is common to humankind as a whole. But Mercedes Valmisa is such a thinker. She moves with ease between the thought traditions of Asia and the West, classical antiquities, modern times and our present age, and harnesses the conceptual constructions from each of these periods and regions to support her philosophical vision, which is offering to us a novel, more comprehensive and broad-sighted picture of the world and ourselves in it. * Rein Raud, Tallinn University, author of The Linguistic Carnival of Thought *
Valmisa draws on different disciplines and philosophical perspectives to develop a compelling rethinking of the nature of human (and non-human) agency. The construction of the book as a whole exemplifies its main insight: that through creative exchange and collaboration across multiple networks, we gain a greater mastery over our actions that leads to richer results than if we were acting on our own. * Tim Connolly, East Stroudsburg University, author of Doing Philosophy Comparatively *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197812181
Author Mercedes Valmisa
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 224mm * 155mm * 28mm