What is it for someone to intend to do something? Not to be in a state of mind, but to be acting.

What is it about?

We often talk about people intending one thing but doing another. I intended to brighten her day with a gift of flowers, but it turned out she was allergic. I had good intentions but failed to realize them. Also, in the law, it is important to establish intent. Murder, legally speaking, does not just involve knowingly killing someone but also intending to do so. Furthermore and relatedly, there seems to be a moral difference between intending to do something and merely foreseeing that it will happen as a result of your action. The terrorist intends to kill his victim in order to terrorize, while the strategic bomber doesn't intend to kill those who are collateral victims of his bombing. This article helps us to understand the difference between intending and doing.

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Why is it important?

This article opposes a very dominant understanding of intention. If the argument in this article is on the right track, we should stop looking into the contents of one's mind to discover their intentions, but instead starting looking at what they do and the roles those actions play in wider actions that they are performing.