Self-Agency and the Life Course

Abstract

First paragraph The course of our lives is shaped by many forces and events, not the lest of which by ourselves. For good and bad, we are to a large extent architects of our life course. Within the constraints imposed by biology, history, social structure, good and bad fortune, and other factors we may or may not be aware of, we try to control the direction of our lives by exerting our will, pursuing our goals, and affecting our circumstances. While we are indeed products of social and physical forces, we are also causal agents in the construction of our environments and ourselves.