Intentions

Is anyone familiar with Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe? She was a British analytic philosopher and student of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Her monograph "Intention" is generally recognized as her greatest and most influential work.

Interestingly, she also coined the term "brute facts" (as opposed to "institutional facts") and completely captured my interest with her treatment of the linguistic "I".

_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._E._M._Anscombe


With the quadzillion words that have been written on the subject of Intention in so many places, I tend to think the meaning of the word boils down to this:
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intention.png

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...but that's just me, I reckon.
 
Menna said:
YES...One might have a goal or aim and the intentions are to do everything one can to reach that goal or aim. Sort of like a bigger picture thing...But if you can see the bigger picture and want it don't you expect it and anticipate getting there. I know I do
Click to expand...

Can you give an example of a Work related aim that you have and how expectation/anticipation comes into play in that aim?
 
Decisions or choices that are made in life with a specific, goal or aim. I believe of there is an aim or goal there is an expectation...

In the beginning of the school year I have intentions to do well and my am is to receive a 90% on every test...

There are no expectations in the intentions but in the goal or aim I would expect that score or higher on each test
 
Menna said:
Decisions or choices that are made in life with a specific, goal or aim. I believe of there is an aim or goal there is an expectation...

In the beginning of the school year I have intentions to do well and my am is to receive a 90% on every test...

There are no expectations in the intentions but in the goal or aim I would expect that score or higher on each test
Click to expand...

With all due respect, you have a tendencey to confuse wishing/desiring with expecting. They aren't the same and neither are they necessarily bound. This confusing is at the heart of wishful thinking and the popular New Agw teaching of YCYOR.
 
I don't know that this will add more signal to the discussion, but along with GEM's work, I'm reminded of various scenes read about and watched on video where some person has worked against all odds to achieve a particular something and at the end, the thing is achieved and the person dies because that's all that was keeping him going. He 'intended it' - not the goal so much as the 'doing' required to reach the goal. The goal/aim was visual...the intention is in the reality, OSIT.
 
Bud said:
I don't know that this will add more signal to the discussion, but along with GEM's work, I'm reminded of various scenes read about and watched on video where some person has worked against all odds to achieve a particular something and at the end, the thing is achieved and the person dies because that's all that was keeping him going. He 'intended it' - not the goal so much as the 'doing' required to reach the goal. The goal/aim was visual...the intention is in the reality, OSIT.
Click to expand...

It’s my understanding that anticipation/expectation is a presumption of the type of outcome (future) that inhibits the efficacy of an act. It seems to me true focus of attention (intent) takes this into account, and thereby attends to the doing and not the outcome.

Intention is more commonly used as why a person chooses to do something - which imo is even less of a factor regarding the role of anticipation/expectation causing an outcome.
 
I see where your coming from but I am well aware of wishful thinking and I am well aware that in order to do well in school or to achieve a goal that you set for yourself you will have to work hard and sacrifice. But at the same time in some way I expect myself to reach that goal so I expect what I want to reach to happen. Thats what I mean by expectation If I have an aim or a goal or intentions to get there then I do have an expectations that I will get there. I don't expect it to happen for free but I would like it to happen and on some levels expect it to happen.
 
Menna said:
Decisions or choices that are made in life with a specific, goal or aim. I believe of there is an aim or goal there is an expectation...

In the beginning of the school year I have intentions to do well and my am is to receive a 90% on every test...

There are no expectations in the intentions but in the goal or aim I would expect that score or higher on each test
Click to expand...

The aim that you gave as an example (90% marks on every test) is an externally oriented goal. The fulfilling of this aim is not entirely in your hands - suppose the instructor of a course is stingy and does not allow anybody to get 90%. Also since the aim has very clear demarcating line - you either succeed (achieve >=90%) or fail (<90%) with nothing in between.

Consider in this context that you set up the aim of understanding the subject material covered in the courses to the best of your ability. This is largely an internal goal - though how well you understand the material could depend on the quality of instruction, it is not completely limited by it. Also, since the aim is more open, it is more immune to anticipation.

4th Way Work goals are usually internal and in cases, may be open-ended in nature. The advantage of "internal" aims is that the responsibility for it lies squarely on our own shoulders an since we can Work only on our own selves, Work aims are internal in nature. If the aim is open-ended, then the scope is broad and gives the opportunity for one to be creative within that broad framework to work towards that goal.

My 2 cents fwiw
 
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