Agency in sociology: the different uses of agency concept in Weber, Giddens and Latour

Abstract

The present article seeks to analyze the notion of agency in sociology from Weber, Giddens and Latour. Although the notion or concept is the same, it presents some significant differences. Thus, we can see what are the interchangeable elements and their specificities in each author. The notion of agency has been widely used, often losing its real meaning from the authors who are used. The article is divided into three parts. The first introductory, introduces the notion of agency in Weber to demonstrate the question of subjectivity in the sociological view. The second part deals with the question of the agency in Giddens, demonstrating a greater complexity of the notion where the notion of competent actor gains notoriety. In the third and final part, the notion of agency in Latour is approached, where the agency is observed as a construction of socio-technical networks from nonhumans. The results point to a heterogeneity in the notions of agency in sociology, and the notion of agency in Giddens is much more sophisticated in understanding human action, while the association of nonhumans in Latour allows us to observe other relationships in larger networks.