Identity and Individual Economic Agents: A Narrative Approach

Authors

John B. Davis, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

24 p.

Publication Date

3-2009

Publisher

Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group

Source Publication

Review of Social Economy

Source ISSN

0034-6764

Abstract

This paper offers an account of how individuals act as agents when we employ a narrative approach to explaining their personal identities. It applies Korsgaard's idea of a “reflective structure of consciousness” to provide foundations for a richer account of the individual economic agent, and uses this to explain and distinguish the concepts of personal identity, individual identity, and social identity. The paper argues that individuals’ personal identities may be in conflict with their socially constructed individual identities. Individuals’ social identities are represented as a link between personal identity, and individual identity. The overall framework is proposed as an alternative to the atomistic individual conception and a contribution to the socially embedded individual conception.

Comments

Accepted version. Review of Social Economy, Vol. 67, No. 1 (March 2009): 71-94. DOI. © 2009 Taylor & Francis (Routledge). Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Davis, John B., "Identity and Individual Economic Agents: A Narrative Approach" (2009). Economics Faculty Research and Publications. 147.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/econ_fac/147