intention
American Heritage Dictionary:
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in·ten·tion
(ĭn-tĕn'shən) 
n.
n.
- A course of action that one intends to follow.
- An aim that guides action; an objective.
- intentions Purpose with respect to marriage: honorable intentions.
- Medicine. The process by which or the manner in which a wound heals.
- Archaic. Import; meaning.
[Middle English entencioun, from Old French intention, from Latin intentiō, intentiōn-, from intentus, intent, from past participle of intendere, to direct attention. See intend.]
SYNONYMS intention, intent, purpose, goal, end, aim, object, objective. These nouns refer to what one plans to do or achieve. Intention simply signifies a course of action that one proposes to follow: It is my intention to take a vacation next month. Intent more strongly implies deliberateness: The executor complied with the testator's intent. Purpose strengthens the idea of resolution or determination: "His purpose was to discover how long these guests intended to stay" (Joseph Conrad). Goal may suggest an idealistic or long-term purpose: The college's goal was to raise ten million dollars for a new library. End suggests a long-range goal: The candidate wanted to win and pursued every means to achieve that end. Aim stresses the direction one's efforts take in pursuit of an end: The aim of most students is to graduate. An object is an end that one tries to carry out: The object of chess is to capture your opponent's king. Objective often implies that the end or goal can be reached: The report outlines the committee's objectives.
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intention
Fowler's Modern English Usage:
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intention
is followed either by of + verbal noun or by a to-infinitive, the first of these being somewhat more common and the second influenced by the verb intend:
I have no intention—no present intention—of standing for Parliament—Harold Macmillan, 1979
He went to Cambridge to read Natural Science, with the intention of becoming a geologist—H. Carpenter, 1981
He has given notice of his intention to turn up this evening—Kingsley Amis, 1980
It was never the intention to start the second battle of Maldon—Essex Chronicle, 2004.
| intensifier, intense, intensive, intend | |
| inter alia, inter, intern, inter-, intra- |
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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intention
In Scholastic logic and psychology, a concept used to describe a mode of being or relation between a mind and an object. In knowing, the mind is said to intend or tend toward its object, and a thing as known, or in the knowing mind, has intentional being, as with squaring the circle, which, though impossible, can be an object of intention. In action theory, intention is taken in a different but related sense, as in acting with the intention of accomplishing a specific purpose. An important question in action theory is that of the relation between having a specific intention in doing something and doing the same thing intentionally. Is an intention necessary for intentional action and, if so, is it a cause of such action or some other kind of ground of it?
For more information on intention, visit Britannica.com.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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intention
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy:
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intention
To have an intention is to be in a state of mind that is favourably directed towards bringing about (or maintaining, or avoiding) some state of affairs, but which is not a mere desire or wish, since it also sets the subject on a course to bring that state of affairs about. The notion thus inherits all the problems of intentionality. The specific problems it raises include characterizing the difference between doing something accidentally and doing it intentionally. The suggestion that the difference lies in a preceding act of mind or volition is not very happy, since one may automatically do what is nevertheless intentional, for example putting one's foot forward while walking. Conversely, unless the formation of a volition is intentional, and thus raises the same questions, the presence of a volition might be unintentional or beyond one's control. Intentions are more finely grained than movements: one set of movements may both be answering the question and starting a war, yet the one may be intentional and the other not.
Oxford Companion to the Mind:
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intention
Intention — deliberate, purposive behaviour — is one of the most difficult concepts to understand or discuss in academic psychology, although most 'common-sense' psychological explanations are in terms of intentions. Behaviour is commonly explained by intentions (such as: 'Why did the chicken cross the road ... ?'), but just what an intention is, in terms of brain processes or anything else, is exceedingly hard to say.
Intention seems to characterize mind, for we can hardly say that natural objects (atoms, molecules, tables and chairs, or planets or stars) have intentions. They are controlled, rather, according to natural laws. The forming of an intention seems to imply free will and the ability to choose. Whether such an ability is compatible with the operation of strictly causal laws at the physical level is a matter of philosophical debate. Neurophysiological experiments show that activity in the relevant part of the motor cortex starts before the person is consciously aware of forming the intention to move. Some people take this as evidence that intentions have no causal effects, and are mere epiphenomena.
Can a machine show intention? It has been argued, for example, by the philosopher Margaret Boden (1972) that artificial intelligence machines can exhibit purpose and intention.
(Published 1987)
Intention seems to characterize mind, for we can hardly say that natural objects (atoms, molecules, tables and chairs, or planets or stars) have intentions. They are controlled, rather, according to natural laws. The forming of an intention seems to imply free will and the ability to choose. Whether such an ability is compatible with the operation of strictly causal laws at the physical level is a matter of philosophical debate. Neurophysiological experiments show that activity in the relevant part of the motor cortex starts before the person is consciously aware of forming the intention to move. Some people take this as evidence that intentions have no causal effects, and are mere epiphenomena.
Can a machine show intention? It has been argued, for example, by the philosopher Margaret Boden (1972) that artificial intelligence machines can exhibit purpose and intention.
(Published 1987)
— Richard L. Gregory
- Bibliography
- Boden, M. (1972). Purposive Explanation in Psychology.
- Dennett, D. C. (1984). Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting.
- — — (1991). Consciousness Explained.
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(DOD) An aim or design (as distinct from capability) to execute a specified course of action.
Devil's Dictionary:
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intention
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce
n.
The mind's sense of the prevalence of one set of influences over another set; an effect whose cause is the imminence, immediate or remote, of the performance of an involuntary act.
Word Tutor:
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intention
IN BRIEF: Purpose.
When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice.
— Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), German statesman.
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Quotes About:
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Intentions
Quotes:
"The greatest events occur without intention playing any part in them; chance makes good mistakes and undoes the most carefully planned undertaking. The world's greatest events are not produced, they happen."
- Georg C. Lichtenberg
"What is the quality of your intent?"
- Thurgood Marshall
"I am sure of nothing so little as my own intentions."
- Lord Byron
"No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he only had good intentions. He had money as well."
- Margaret Thatcher
"Hell is paved with good intentions, not with bad ones. All men mean well."
- George Bernard Shaw
"His designs were strictly honorable, as the phrase is; that is, to rob a lady of her fortune by way of marriage."
- Henry Fielding
See more famous quotes about Intentions
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Aviation:
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intention
A term used by ATC (air traffic control) to ask a pilot, “What do you plan to do?”
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:
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intention
A manner of healing, e.g. first intention when a surgical incision heals immediately, second intention when a gaping wound fills with granulation tissue and is then covered from the sides with epithelium. See also wound healing.
- i. tremor — tremor of the head or a limb which increases as the patient tries to perform a particular function, e.g. following a moving object by moving the head. See also intention tremor.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Intention
"Intentionally" redirects here. For the racehorse, see Intentionally (horse).
"Purpose" redirects here. For other uses, see Purpose (disambiguation).
Intention is an agent's specific purpose in performing an action or series of actions, the end or goal that is aimed at. Outcomes that are unanticipated or unforeseen are known as unintended consequences.
Intentional behavior can also be just thoughtful and deliberate goal-directedness. Recent research in experimental philosophy has shown that other factors may also matter for whether or not an action is counted as intentional.
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Philosophy
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", and that all intentional action involved acting under a description.
Ethics
In deontological ethics the intent of an act is the way in which a maxim is supposed to be executed.[citation needed]
Experimental research
In recent years, there has been a large amount of work done on the concept of intentional action in experimental philosophy.[1] This work has aimed at illuminating and understanding the factors which influence people's judgments of whether an action was done intentionally. For instance, research has shown that unintended side effects are often considered to be done intentionally if the side effect is considered bad and the person acting knew the side effect would occur before acting. Yet when the side effect is considered good, people generally don't think it was done intentionally, even if the person knew it would occur before acting. The most well-known example involves a chairman who implements a new business program for the sole purpose to make money but ends up affecting the environment in the process. If he implements his business plan and in the process he ends up helping the environment, then people generally say he unintentionally helped the environment; if he implements his business plan and in the process he ends up harming the environment, then people generally say he intentionally harmed the environment. The important point is that in both cases his only goal was to make money.[2] While there have been many explanations proposed for why the "side-effect effect" occurs, researchers on this topic have not yet reached a consensus.
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 pyramids, 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
- Intension
- Intent (Military)
- Intention (criminal law)
- Intentional stance
- Intentionality
- Intentions
- Intraparietal sulcus
- Mindfulness
- Process art
References
- ^ Adam Feltz. (2008). The Knobe Effect: A Brief Overview. Journal of Mind and Behavior. 28: 265-278.
- ^ Knobe, J. (2003a). Intentional Action and Side Effects in Ordinary Language. Analysis, 63, 190-193
- G.E.M. Anscombe, Intention
- Donald Davidson, Essays on Actions and Events
External links
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Look up intention in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Intention
Dansk (Danish)
n. - hensigt, agt, forsæt, formål, mening, vilje
idioms:
- have every intention of have som absolut hensigt
- have no intention of ikke have til hensigt at
Nederlands (Dutch)
bedoeling, opzet
Français (French)
n. - intention
idioms:
- have every intention of avoir toutes les intentions de
- have no intention of ne pas avoir l'intention de
Deutsch (German)
n. - Absicht, Intention
idioms:
- have every intention of die feste Absicht haben
- have no intention of nicht die Absicht haben
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πρόθεση, σκοπός, επιδίωξη
idioms:
- have every intention of έχω κάθε διάθεση να...
- have no intention of δεν έχω πρόθεση να...
idioms:
- have every intention of essere fermamente deciso di
- have no intention of non avere alcuna intenzione di
Português (Portuguese)
n. - intenção (f)
idioms:
- have every intention of ter toda a intenção (f) de
- have no intention of não ter nenhuma intenção de
idioms:
- have every intention of с серьезными намерениями
- have no intention of не намереваться
Español (Spanish)
n. - intención, propósito
idioms:
- have every intention of tengo toda la intención de
- have no intention of no tengo ninguna intensión, no me propongo
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - avsikt, tanke
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
意图, 目的, 意向, 意思, 含义, 求婚意图, 愈合
idioms:
- have every intention of 打算...
- have no intention of 无意做..., 不打算...
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 意圖, 目的, 意向, 意思, 含義, 求婚意圖, 癒合
idioms:
- have every intention of 打算...
- have no intention of 無意做..., 不打算...
idioms:
- have every intention of ~할 목적으로
- have no intention of ~하려는 의사가 없다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 意図, 意志, 目的, 結婚の意志, 意味, 趣旨
idioms:
- have no intention of 気がない, のつもりがない
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) عزم, تصيم, قصد
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - כוונה, מטרה, תפיסה
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Roget's Thesaurus
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Copyright © 1994, 1996, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Companion to the Mind
The Oxford Companion to the Mind. Second Edition. Copyright © Oxford University Press, 2004. All rights reserved.
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US Defense Department Military Dictionary
US Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Words, 2003.
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McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Aviation
An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation.. Copyright © 2005 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Saunders Veterinary Dictionary
Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Intention.
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