causal agency
- noun
- /ˈkɔːzəl ˈeɪdʒənsi/
- Specialized
:
agencia causal
- Each of these possesses causal agency, and by looking at their collective actions at a higher level of abstraction, one can see genre as a system that acts and reacts in response to various events and stimuli.
Examples
-
The scientist proposed a new theory that identifies the causal agency behind climate change.
-
Philosophers debate whether free will can truly be considered a form of causal agency.
-
In the investigation, the detectives sought to establish the causal agency of the car accident.
Synonyms
∞
1.8
A thing or person that makes something happen
173
4.5
A thing or substance that causes a specific effect, often in medicine
4
3.9
A person who starts an idea, project, or change
1
4.5
A thing or condition that directly makes something happen
1
7.0
A person or thing that makes something happen
1
6.9
A person or thing that makes something happen
1
8.5
A person or thing that makes something happen
A person or thing that makes something happen
How Causal
- Specialized
35
3.6
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
4.5
- Specialized
2
8.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'causal' (relating to a cause) modifying 'agency' (the capacity or power to act), yielding the idea of an entity or capacity that brings about an effect. This adjective+noun composition follows standard English composition patterns and has close cross-linguistic equivalents, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Causal agency may come from the simple image of someone or something that makes things happen, like a person pulling a lever that starts a machine. Here causal means 'causing' and agency means a doer or force, so the phrase points to the person or thing 'responsible for causing' an effect.