The Cynical Historian

Agency in History | The Diatribe (2019x5)

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How much agency should we give to historical characters? Are people automatons or completely rational actors? Does everyone behave with full willpower, or are just going through the routine? ------------------------------------------------------------ references, by order shown: Thomas Andrews, Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008). https://amzn.to/2RzfdIj Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl, The Philosopher’s Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods (New York: Blackwell Publishing, 2010). https://amzn.to/2ypBBuU Edward T. Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt, History Wars: The Enola Gay and other Battles for the American Past (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996). https://amzn.to/2pHmglK George F. Kennan, The Decision to Intervene: Soviet American Relations, 1917-1920, Volume II (Princeton, N.Jer.: Princeton University Press, 1956). https://amzn.to/2vGXzZO E.M. Halliday, The Ignorant Armies (New York: Bantam, 1958). https://amzn.to/2OzcWuD Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1970). https://amzn.to/2vJHe6B ------------------------------------------------------------ SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=CynicalCypher88 Support the channel through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CynicalHistorian or pick up some merchandise at SpreadShirt: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/cynicalhistorian LET'S CONNECT: https://www.facebook.com/cynicalcypher88 https://discord.gg/Ukthk4U https://twitter.com/Cynical_History ------------------------------------------------------------ Wiki: Agency is the capacity of an actor to act in a given environment. The capacity to act does not at first imply a specific moral dimension to the ability to make the choice to act, and moral agency is therefore a distinct concept. In sociology, an agent is an i