Agency: Its Role In Mental Development

The idea behind this book is that developing a conception of the physical world and a conception of mind is impossible without the exercise of agency, meaning "the power to alter at will one's perceptual inputs". The thesis is derived from a philosphical account of the role of agency in knowledge.; The book is divided into three parts. In Part One, the author argues that "purely representational" theories of mind and of mental development have been overvalued, thereby clearing the ground fo...