JOINT ACTION AND ITS RELATION TO GROUP AGENCY

Abstract

The paper attempts to trace the relationship between joint action and group agency. Though both the
concepts are employed in philosophy to understand dynamics of a social phenomenon that involves
more than one agent, they are rarely seen in the light of the connections and differences between
them. To that end, the paper is structured into four sections. The first section introduces the concepts.
The second section makes an attempt to delve into the concept of Joint action. The primary questions
sought to be clarified in this section are: what constitutes Joint action? What is the difference between
a Joint action and Collective action? The Third Section delves into the concept of Group agency. The
primary questions sought to be clarified in this section are: what constitutes Group Agency? What is
the distinctness of Group agency in contrast to Joint Action? The Fourth section attempts to compare
and contrast both the concepts to bring about the conceptual difference between the two. The paper is
based on the works of Philip Petit and David Schweikard.