Trigger's Ontological Perspective of Social Agency, Agency Theory, and Practice Theory

Introduction

Humans are social beings who live in a community in which they interact with each other. Besides, human beings make daily decisions based on the tasks they would wish to accomplish individually or which are related to the general practice I the society in which they live. However, the concept of agency theory there is the need to set up agencies which issue authority and oversee whatever any individual would wish to accomplish; an agency in this context, therefore, plays the role of influencing the decision-making exercises undertaken by the human beings in the society. Nevertheless, diverse practice without any central standards of reference is encouraged in society based on the associated positive outcomes. Even as much as they are discouraged by the concept underlying the agency theory, individual approaches are seen as a way of introducing and developing creativity in the society which further enables positive results in the world at large. This paper refers to Trigger (2001) regarding the application and perceptions of the ideas in the society.

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Social Agency

The social agency is a concept of social science which explains the capacity of human beings to act independently without having to rely on any other making choices; it, therefore, implies that individuals in every society are entitled to some level of capacity of making free choices without the influence of others. Trigger (2016) argued that humans have a unique cognitive ability which is adequate to allow them to make informed choices. As a result, they do not necessarily need to be under the supervision of an individual to complete such tasks. "There is no doubt that human beings have the cognitive ability to make choices based on their beliefs" (Trigger 2006: 487). In this case, Trigger is referring to the need to allow the application of the social agency in the society in which every individual has the freedom to decide what to do in any situation. This implies that the social behavior of a human being is effective enough and therefore they are safe while accomplishing the associated tasks. Trigger goes an extra mile to study the exemptions of this condition as however difficult to achieve in the idea and realizes that it is however difficult to achieve in an ideal society. The actual conditions in the society in which there are controlling agents; the agents are established by the society and are given the opportunity of managing individuals by practicing authority over the decisions they which may further affect the society as a whole. On the contrary aspect, humans do not actually have the potential of making cognitive decisions, and this is addressed in the agency theory.

Agency Theory

The provision of the agency theory appears to present a direct and potential criticism of the idea underlying social agency. In this theory, there is an idea that individual choices may possibly lead human beings to challenging situations from which it may be difficult to recover. Trigger noted that a much as human beings are allowed the opportunity to make their own choices without interference, the level of freedom can probably lead them into serious problems. Agency theory covers the actions of individuals in society and the consequences of those actions. "Yet humans are not omniscient and frequently their actions, even when well informed, do not have the expected consequences. Sometimes bad choices result in the deaths of individuals or whole groups" (Trigger 2006: 487). Based on the argument, human beings should always be lead if they should make any meaningful step. Allowing to enjoy freedom of choices could be a great since the consequences could be overwhelming to the society, including death to the whole group involved in a given issue, therefore, those involved should be penalized; "classified as a serious criminal offense at both the national and international levels if it results in civil disturbances or harm to individuals (Trigger, 206: 543)". The idea, therefore, translates to the need deprive human beings of individual-based tasks in which they work independently. It provides that the members of every given society are only accepted in the condition that they comply with the agency established as well as their aims. Every society is represented by agents which oversee the behaviors of individuals. Any decision making exercise us expected to be influenced by a force which is external to the person in question. it, therefore, follows that the power of domination is provided to the agents and controls most of the steps that people accomplish in society. However, further arguments emerge which seem to limit the validity in the agency theory, and this is addressed in the practice theory.

Practice Theory

Trigger presents the issue of practice theory and further realizes that practice theory is another distinctive aspect of social sciences, which could only b related to the social agency by contradicts the beliefs under an agency theory. Practice theory refers to the idea that that the social beings have diverse motives and intentions has the potential of making and transforming the world in which they live. "It has been claimed that, by helping to expand our temporal and spatial frames of reference, archaeology has irreversibly altered "the range and quality of human thought" (Trigger, 2006: 547). Regarding this argument, practice theory provides unlimited conditions whose benefits are reflected in the improved value of the society. sIt is used in the thought of the archeological context to understand the human agency and social structure with dynamic forms of operation in a dynamic relationship. A society is made up of many people all of whom must be having some level of diversity among them. As a result, their plans and approaches to various tasks in the society tend to vary. As a result, the impact of the different behaviors has a positive influence on the progress of society. It, therefore, follows that practice theory encourages diversity in the society and associates it with a positive outcome in the context of aiding in significant advancements

Conclusion

Trigger realizes that society is made of people who have nearly the same characteristics and who as well exhibit varying characteristics. This leads to the tendency of human beings in which they prefer working on their own rather than having to be ruled by an authority. However, whatever the level of differences is addressed by creating agents which act as a way enforcing authority to ensure that every human being refers to a standard way of behaving. Consequently, human beings are always controlled to help them achieve homogeneity. This tends to limit diversity which may otherwise help the society to incorporate various aspects of creativity which promotes new ideas. Contradiction, therefore, arises in the perceptions of the way in which individuals address social context and the way in which people relate to each other in society. The struggle to achieve independence, in which they hardly rely on the influence of the others, could, therefore, be granted. The ideas generally revolve around the need to accept or reject the societal agencies based on expected outcomes.

Reference

Trigger, B. (2006). A history of archaeological thought (2nd ed., pp. 484-548). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.