Intention Talks
An intention is a mental state in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the content of the intention while the commitment is the attitude towards this content. Other mental states can have action plans as their content, as when one admires a plan, but differ from intentions since they do not involve a practical commitment to realizing this plan. Successful intentions bring about the intended course of action while unsuccessful intentions fail to do so. Intentions, like many other mental states, have intentionality: they represent possible states of affairs.
Theories of intention try to capture the characteristic features of intentions. The belief-desire theory is the traditionally dominant approach. According to a simple version of it, having an intention is nothing but having a desire to perform a certain action and a belief that one will perform this action. Belief-desire theories are frequently criticized based on the fact that neither beliefs nor desires involve a practical commitment to performing an action, which is often illustrated in various counterexamples. The evaluation theory tries to overcome this problem by explaining intentions in terms of unconditional evaluations. That is to say that intentions do not just present the intended course of action as good in some respect, as is the case for desires, but as good all things considered. This approach has problems in explaining cases of akrasia, i.e. that agents do not always intend what they see as the best course of action. A closely related theory identifies intentions not with unconditional evaluations but with predominant desires. It states that intending to do something consists in desiring it the most. Opponents of this approach have articulated various counterexamples with the goal of showing that intentions do not always coincide with the agent's strongest desire. A different approach to the theories mentioned so far is due to Elizabeth Anscombe and denies the distinction between intentions and actions. On her view, to intend a goal is already a form of acting towards this goal and therefore not a distinct mental state. This account struggles to explain cases in which intentions and actions seem to come apart, as when the agent is not currently doing anything towards realizing their plan or in the case of failed actions. The self-referentiality theory suggests that intentions are self-referential, i.e. that they do not just represent the intended course of action but also represent themselves as the cause of the action. But the claim that this happens on the level of the content of the intention has been contested.
The term "intention" refers to a group of related phenomena. For this reason, theorists often distinguish various types of intentions in order to avoid misunderstandings. The most-discussed distinction is that between prospective and immediate intentions. Prospective intentions, also known as "prior intentions", involve plans for the future. They can be subdivided according to how far they plan ahead: proximal intentions involve plans for what one wants to do straightaway whereas distal intentions are concerned with a more remote future. Immediate intentions, on the other hand, are intentions that guide the agent while they are performing the action in question. They are also called "intentions-in-action" or "act-related" intentions. The term "intention" usually refers to anticipated means or ends that motivate the agent. But in some cases, it can refer to anticipated side-effects that are neither means nor ends to the agent. In this case, the term "oblique intention" is sometimes used. Intentions are rationally evaluable: they are either rational or irrational. Conscious intentions are the paradigmatic form of intention: in them, the agent is aware of their goals. But it has been suggested that actions can also be guided by unconscious intentions of which the agent is not aware.
The formation of intentions is sometimes preceded by the deliberation of promising alternative courses of action and may happen in decisions, in which the agent chooses between these alternatives. Intentions are responsible for initiating, sustaining, and terminating actions and are frequently used to explain why people engage in a certain behavior. Understanding the behavior of others in terms of intentions already happens in early childhood. Important in this context is the role of gestures, pointing, attention, and eye movement to understand the intentions of others and to form shared intentions. In the philosophy of action, a central question is whether it is true for all intentional actions that they are caused or accompanied by intentions. The theory of reasoned action aims to predict behavior based on how pre-existing attitudes and subjective norms determine behavioral intentions. In ethics, the intention principle states that whether an action is morally permissible sometimes depends on the agent's intention for performing this action.
Title | Speaker | |
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Ngon Dro Nyam Len, Lecture 1: Refuge, Serial 00046 Monks, Japan, Lineage, Separation, Commitment, Intention, Hate, American, Nirvana,... |
Mar 02 1980 Session 1, Tape 1 |
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November 1979 talk, Serial No. 00901OSB Cam, Diversity, Politics, Darkness and Light, zen, Intention |
Nov 1979 |
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October 27th, 1979, Serial No. 00190 Money, Building, Intention, Humility, Yogachara |
Oct 27 1979 |
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October 27th, 1979, Serial No. 00611 Money, Building, Intention, Humility, Ego |
Oct 27 1979 |
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October 2nd, 1979, Serial No. 00610 Truth, Intention, Oneness, War, Posture |
Oct 02 1979 |
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April 1st, 1979, Serial No. 00617 Intention, Concentration, Building, Daily Life, Buddha Nature |
Apr 01 1979 |
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March 8th, 1979, Serial No. 00600 Practice Period, Community, War, Hate, Intention |
Mar 08 1979 |
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February 28th, 1979, Serial No. 00122 Eight Awarenesses, Enemies, Intention, Transmission, Silence, Emotions, Building... |
Feb 28 1979 |
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December 7th, 1978, Serial No. 00632 Intention, Love, Vows, Big Mind, Paramitas |
Dec 07 1978 |
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April 4th, 1978, Serial No. 00583 Money, Big Mind, Buddha Nature, Lineage, Intention |
Apr 04 1978 |
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March 16th, 1978, Serial No. 00574 Dharmakaya, Fox, Intention, Patience, Compassion |
Mar 16 1978 |
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Foundation Practices Seminar: Refuge, Serial 00074 Part B Lineage, Intention, difficulty, confusion, Posture, Bell, Beginners |
Feb 25 1978 B 3 and 4 DR45 |
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February 17th, 1978, Serial No. 00570 Intention, causation, Bowing, Sangha, Fox |
Feb 17 1978 |
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September 11th, 1977, Serial No. 00071 Bell, Ceremony, American, Intention, Freedom |
Sep 11 1977 |
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August 26th, 1977, Serial No. 00094 realization, Buddha Nature, Dharma Transmission, Religion, lecture, Vinaya, Intention... |
Aug 26 1977 |
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December 20th, 1976, Serial No. 00063 Intention, Death, Buddha Nature, Letting Go, Zendo |
Dec 20 1976 |
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September 3rd, 1976, Serial No. 00088 Big Mind, Ego, Soto Zen, soto, Building, stubbornness, Separation, Intention,... |
Sep 03 1976 |
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April 18th, 1976, Serial No. 00029 Intention, Joshu, Concentration, Transmission, Dharma Transmission |
Apr 18 1976 |
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April 18th, 1976, Serial No. 00194 Intention, Joshu, Concentration, Transmission, Dharma Transmission |
Apr 18 1976 |
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April 7th, 1976, Serial No. 00028 Manjushri, Dragons, Intention, Concentration, Vows |
Apr 07 1976 |
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April 7th, 1976, Serial No. 00193 Manjushri, Intention, Dragons, Vows, Concentration |
Apr 07 1976 |
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April 6th, 1976, Serial No. 00032 Community, Fundraising, Intention, Chanting, Non-discrimination |
Apr 06 1976 |
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April 6th, 1976, Serial No. 00191 Community, Four Noble Truths, Fundraising, Intention, Chanting |
Apr 06 1976 |
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April 5th, 1976, Serial No. 00197 Concentration, Intention, Right Speech, Humility, Joshu |
Apr 05 1976 |
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February 20th, 1976, Serial No. 00204 Intention, Death, Buddha Nature, Letting Go, Zendo |
Feb 20 1976 |
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February 17th, 1976, Serial No. 00060 Silence, Joshu, Intention, Truth, Demons |
Feb 17 1976 |
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February 17th, 1976, Serial No. 00201 Silence, Joshu, Intention, Truth, Demons |
Feb 17 1976 |
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October 30th, 1975, Serial No. 00334 Vows, Intention, Love, Don't Know Mind, Greed |
Oct 30 1975 |
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October 30th, 1975, Serial No. 00565 Vows, Intention, Love, Greed, Sixth Patriarch |
Oct 30 1975 |
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October 26th, 1975, Serial No. 00014 Intention, Concentration, Vows, Oneness, Greed |
Oct 26 1975 |
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October 26th, 1975, Serial No. 00561 Intention, Concentration, Vows, Oneness, Greed |
Oct 26 1975 |
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April 7th, 1975, Serial No. 00309 Hyakujo, Baso, Delusion, realization, Intention |
Apr 07 1975 |
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April 5th, 1975, Serial No. 00275 Sixth Patriarch, Bell, Doubt, Transmission, Intention |
Apr 05 1975 |
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April 5th, 1975, Serial No. 00312 Bell, Sixth Patriarch, Transmission, Intention, Doubt |
Apr 05 1975 |
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February 20th, 1975, Serial No. 00287 Intention, Rinzai, Bowing, Freedom, Avalokiteshvara |
Feb 20 1975 |
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February 20th, 1975, Serial No. 00553 Intention, Rinzai, Freedom, Avalokiteshvara, Priest |
Feb 20 1975 |
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February 19th, 1975, Serial No. 00552 Vows, Gratitude, Happiness, Freedom, Intention |
Feb 19 1975 |
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November 1st, 1974, Serial No. 00173 Intention, Money, Anger, Joshu, Precepts |
Nov 01 1974 |
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November 1st, 1974, Serial No. 00531 Money, Intention, Anger, Joshu, Precepts |
Nov 01 1974 |
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April 8th, 1973, Serial No. 00106 Ordinary Mind, Lay, Dragons, Doubt, Intention |
Apr 08 1973 |
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October 31st, 1972, Serial No. 00344 Discrimination, Ego, Religion, Liberation, Hate, Duality, Building, Patience,... |
Oct 31 1972 |
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April 1972 talk, Serial No. 00241 Evil, Zendo, Intention, Bell, Discrimination |
Apr 1972 |
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March 11th, 1972, Serial No. 00448 Intention, Lotus Sutra, Bowing, Suffering |
Mar 11 1972 |
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February 25th, 1972, Serial No. 00183 Emotions, Buddha Mind, training, Buddha Nature, realization, soto, Mahayana, Chanting... |
Feb 25 1972 |
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February 1972 talk, Serial No. 00181, Side B Zendo, Building, Tassajara, Intention |
Feb 1972 |
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September 20th, 1971, Serial No. 00272 American, Commitment, Intention |
Sep 20 1971 |
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July 10th, 1971, Serial No. 00259 Consciousness, Offering, Intention, Beginners, difficulty |
Jul 10 1971 |
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June 26th, 1971, Serial No. 00253 Impermanence, Attachment, Intention, Ego, stubbornness, Passions, Breath, Happiness,... |
Jun 26 1971 |
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1971, Serial No. 00314 Discrimination, Pain, Beginners, Buddha Nature, Religion, Interdependence, Lineage,... |
1971 |
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September 20th, 1970, Serial No. 00172 Intuition, resistance, Posture, Building, Patience, Intention, Culture, Delusion... |
Sep 20 1970 |