Agency Is Both an Office and the Power to Act
An agency is an organisation acting for others. Philosophy uses the same word for the capacity to act at all.
An agency is an organisation that acts on behalf of others. Philosophy and social science use the word quite differently: there, agency is the capacity to act and to shape your own circumstances, usually contrasted with *structure*, the forces acting on you. Both senses come from the same idea of doing.
- An organisation acting for others. *A travel agency.*
- A government body. *A regulatory agency.*
- The capacity to act. *Personal agency.*
- Means or instrumentality. *Through the agency of a friend.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | agency | An estate agency. |
| Plural | agencies | Several agencies. |
| Person | agent | A booking agent. |
| Related | agenda | The meeting agenda. |
| Related | agent provocateur | An agent provocateur. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The agency handles their bookings.Business.
- Patients want more agency over treatment.Capacity to decide.
- It happened through the agency of a mutual friend.Formal: by their means.
Words from *agere*, to do
- Agenda — literally things to be done
- Agile — quick to move
- Agitate — to set in motion
- Exact — to drive out or demand
- Navigate — to drive a ship
From Medieval Latin *agentia*, from Latin *agere*, to do or drive. The organisational sense is the newer of the two.
What is agency in social science?
The capacity of an individual to act independently and make their own choices, usually discussed alongside the structures that limit them.
Agency or agent?
An agent is a person or thing that acts. An agency is the organisation, or the capacity to act.