Intention 527474 222761896 2008-06-30T23:57:58Z C d h 1898675 (see also [[Intention (criminal)]] and [[Intentions]]) An [[wiktionary:agent|agent]]'s '''intention''' in performing an [[Action (philosophy)|action]] is his or her specific ''[[purpose]]'' in doing so, the ''end'' or ''goal'' that is aimed at, or '''intended''' to accomplish. Whether an action is ''successful'' or unsuccessful depends at least on whether the intended [[result]] was brought about. Other consequences of someone's acting are called ''unintentional''. Intentional behavior can also be just thoughtful and deliberate goal-directedness. ==In Philosophy== [[G._E._M._Anscombe|G.E.M Anscombe]] made the topic of intentional action a major topic of [[analytic philosophy]] with her 1957 work ''Intention''. She argued that intentional action was coextensive with action of which one could ask "why were you doing that?" In the sense that Anscombe meant her question, it was "refused application" by the answer "I was not aware that I was doing that," but not by "for no reason at all." Therefore Anscombe held that it was possible to act intentionally for no reason at all. She also claimed that intentional action was subject to "knowledge without observation." ==Related terms== * In the [[philosophy of mind]], '''[[intentionality]]''' is the property of being "about" something else, or to have some subject matter, in a certain way. Many states of mind, such as ''thinking about the [[pyramid]]s'', are characteristically ''about'' things (in this case the pyramids). Other things, such as words and paintings, can also have kinds of intentionality. Rocks and tables, in general, do not have intentional states. ==See also== *[[Intraparietal sulcus]] *[[Intentionality]] *[[Process art]] *[[Mindfulness]] ==References== *G. E. M. Anscombe, ''Intention'' *[[Donald Davidson (philosopher)|Donald Davidson]], ''Essays on Actions and Events'' {{Wiktionarypar|intention}} [[Category:Thought]] [[Category:Intention| ]] [[de:Willenserklärung]] [[fr:Intention]] [[ko:의사표시]] [[ja:意思表示]] [[ru:Интенция]] [[scn:Ntinzioni]] [[zh:意思表示]]