Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Anscombe’s Intention

217 Pages·2016·1.99 MB·English

by  Rachael Wiseman

Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to
Anscombe’s Intention
G. E. M. Anscombe’s Intention is a classic of twentieth-century philosophy.
The work has been enormously influential despite being a dense and largely
misunderstood text. It is a standard reference point for anyone engaging
with philosophy of action and philosophy of psychology.
In this Routledge Philosophy Guidebook, Rachael Wiseman:
• situates Intention in relation to Anscombe’s moral philosophy and
philosophy of mind
• considers the influence of Aquinas, Aristotle, Frege and Wittgenstein on
the method and content of Intention
• adopts a structure for assessing the text that shows how Anscombe
unifies the three aspects of the concept of intention
• considers the influence and implications of the piece whilst distinguish-
ing it from subsequent work in the philosophy of action.
Ideal for anyone wanting to understand and gain a perspective on Anscombe’s
seminal work, this guide is an essential introduction, useful in the study of
the philosophy of action, ethics, philosophy of psychology and related areas.
Rachael Wiseman is Addison Wheeler Research Fellow at Durham Uni versity,
UK.
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Anscombe’s Intention Rachael Wiseman

Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to
Anscombe’s Intention
Rachael
W i s e m a n
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Rachael Wiseman
The right of Rachael Wiseman to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or u tilised
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Wiseman, Rachael.
Routledge philosophy guidebook to Anscombe’s Intention / Rachael Wiseman.
pages cm.—(Routledge philosophy guidebooks)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Anscombe, G. E. M. (Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret). Intention. 2. Intention
(Logic) I. Title.
BC199.I5A539 2016
160—dc23
2015035839
ISBN: 978-0-415-82186-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-82187-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-65118-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Garamond
by Book Now Ltd, London
C
ontents
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction 1
1 Elizabeth Anscombe and Intention 10
Anscombe’s times 11
Oxford philosophy 13
Anscombe’s faith 17
Intention’s influence 20
Notes 24
Suggested reading 24
2 Three tasks for Intention 26
The genesis of Anscombe’s Intention 28
Modern moral philosophy 31
Intended and foreseen consequences 37
Intention with which 39
An account of action 40
Notes 45
Suggested reading 46
viii CONTENTS
3 ‘The subject under three heads’ 47
The subject introduced under three heads 48
The ‘connective’ approach 49
‘We are in the dark about the character of the concept’ (§1) 56
What is this description for? 63
‘A tool for the philosophy of action’ 65
The structure of Intention 72
Notes 75
Suggested reading 76
4 Intentional action (§§5–19) 77
The question ‘Why?’ (§§5–18) 78
‘It was involuntary’ and reason vs cause (§§5–11) 81
Known without observation (§8) 83
Involuntary movements (§§7–11) 92
Intention, motive, cause, reason (§§10–14) 97
Voluntary vs intentional actions (§§17–19) 106
Notes 109
Suggested reading 111
5 Intention with which (§§20–40) 113
Intentional actions, further intentions in acting,
intentions for the future (§§20–21) 114
Doing X in order to do Y (§22) 120
Doing Y in doing X (§§23–28) 124
Non observational knowledge? (§§29–33) 132
Practical reasoning as ‘ordinary reasoning’ (§§33–34) 138
The idea of logical compulsion (§33) 141
Wanting (§§34–40) 145
Notes 147
Suggested reading 150
6 The character of the concept of intention (§§42–49) 151
Form of description of events (§§46–48) 152
Diagnosing the Cartesian impulse 158
Practical knowledge (§§28–32, §§45–48) 161
Notes 175
Suggested reading 176
CONTENTS ix
7 Expressions of intention for the future
(§§2–3 and §§50–52) 177
The place of expressions of intention for the future
in Intention 178
Species of prediction (§§2–3) 179
‘I am going to do it unless...’ 186
Intention and the future 189
Notes 192
Suggested reading 193
Bibliography 194
Index 201