Aristotle on Agency, Habits and Institutions

CRESPO, RICARDO F.

Journal of Institutional Economics

Cambridge University Press

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2016

This paper introduces Aristotle?sconception of agency, habits and institutions as a way of contributing to some currentdiscussions about the definition, nature and theory of institutions. Aristotledeveloped a theory of human action, where we can find a place for ?agency?. Hisviews on habits are linked to his theory of virtue and art (skill). Concerninginstitutions, Aristotle provides a sound social and political philosophy thatencompasses the nature and role of institutions. The paper will subsequentlypresent Aristotle?s ideas on these three notions ?agency, habits andinstitutions? and will finally establish which of the current accounts ofinstitutions involved in the discussion sparked by Hindriks and Guala?s recentpaper (2005a) he would support. Given that some realities tackled in the paperare nowadays radically different from Aristotle?s times, the paper triesto keep an ?Aristotelian-minded? point of view ?that is, analyzing currenttopics based on Aristotelian concepts.