The Philosophy of Accidentality
Journal of the American Philosophical Association July 28, 2020 DOI: 10.1017/apa.2019.15 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 46 |
| Key points | Argues that the concept of 'accidentality' casts new light on social subordination and socially scaffolded agency, including cultural alienation, biculturality, and double consciousness. |
Abstract
Abstract In mid-twentieth-century Mexican philosophy, there was a peculiar nationalist existentialist project focused on the cultural conditions of agency. This article revisits some of those ideas, including the idea that there is an important but underappreciated experience of one's relationship to norms and social meanings. This experience—something called accidentality—casts new light on various forms of social subordination and socially scaffolded agency, including cultural alienation, biculturality, and double consciousness.