Time, Agency, and Representation: Unraveling the Temporal Structure of Human Action

This paper delves into the intricate relationship between time, agency, and representation, highlighting the fundamental temporal structure of agency. It posits that our capacity to act in the world is inherently linked to our experience of time, as we form intentions in the present to shape the future. The paper emphasizes that agency unfolds over time, involving extended processes that require sustained attention until completion. This temporal structure involves not only time itself but also various representations of temporality.

The paper outlines three distinct levels at which these elements intersect:

1. Psychological level: This level examines how the representation of the temporal sequence of events changes when agency is involved. It encompasses both personal and sub-personal mechanisms and raises questions about how our understanding of time is influenced by our agency.

2. Phenomenological level: This level focuses on the content of our temporally structured experiences as agents. It explores how we perceive time, attend to the passage of time, and explicitly represent various temporal features in our experiences, such as duration, frequency, and sequence of events.

3. Neurophysiological level: This level seeks to ground the character of phenomenological and psychological accounts of time and agency in various neurophysiological processes. It aims to understand the neural mechanisms underlying temporal experience and representation in agency.

By considering these three levels together, the paper suggests that integrating the understanding of agency and temporal experience can illuminate each other and reveal gaps in our knowledge of both. It also acknowledges that the representation of time in agency adds complexity beyond the mere involvement of time.

Overall, the paper provides an overview of the interconnectedness of time, agency, and representation, and proposes avenues for future research in understanding the role of represented time in agency.