Drawing on contemporary agency theory and the phenomenological–existential tradition, this paper uses Mr. Stevens, the narrator-butler of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, to examine the interplay and potential tensions between different aspects (and thus different standards) of human agency. Highlighting the problem of mission creep described by John Martin Fischer, in which a notion expands beyond the original purpose, I use Stevens's thoughts on dignity to outline three different ways actions can (or can fail to) trace back to agents—autonomy as self-control, authenticity as sincerity, and authenticity as ownership. I then propose that the way Stevens embraces and acts consistently within his subservient professional role (autonomy as self-control) weakens his ability to take responsibility for his life in the sense required by authenticity as ownership. Because the self-responsibility of authenticity requires normative flexibility (the ability to revise and reshape one's commitments and values), when normatively inflexible agents act in self-controlled ways according to their roles or welfare standards, they may limit their ability to take responsibility for their lives. In addition to illuminating debates about whether robust human agency is compatible with subservience, the normative flexibility involved in authenticity has implications for human agency more broadly.

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管家为什么这么做？

借鉴当代能动理论和现象学-存在主义传统，本文选用石黑一雄《今日遗迹》的叙述管家史蒂文斯先生，检查人类能动性的不同方面（以及不同的标准）之间的相互作用和潜在的紧张关系。强调约翰·马丁·菲舍尔所描述的任务蔓延问题，其中一个概念超出了最初的目的，我使用史蒂文斯关于尊严的思想来概述行动可以（或不能）追溯到代理的三种不同方式——作为自我的自治控制，真实为诚意，真实为所有权。然后我提出，史蒂文斯在他屈从的专业角色（作为自我控制的自主性）中接受和一贯行事的方式削弱了他在作为所有权的真实性所要求的意义上对自己的生活负责的能力。因为真实性的自我责任需要规范的灵活性（修改和重塑自己的承诺和价值观的能力），当通常不灵活的代理人根据他们的角色或福利标准以自我控制的方式行事时，他们可能会限制他们对自己的生活负责的能力。除了阐明关于强大的人类能动性是否与屈从兼容的辩论之外，真实性所涉及的规范灵活性对人类能动性有更广泛的影响。