Anscombe's Intention

John Schwenkler is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University, where he has taught since 2013. He specializes in the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of action, ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of cognitive science.

• PrefaceAbbreviationsIntroduction: The Project of IntentionInterpretive PrécisOutline of the Text The Commentary1 Preliminaries1.1 The three headings (§1)1.2 Predictions and expressions of intention (§§2-3)1.3 Action first (§§3-4)1.4 Summary discussion 2 Beginnings of an Account2.1 'Why?'-questions (§5)2.2 The three epistemic conditions (§§6-8)2.3 Reason, motive, and cause (§§9-16)2.4 'For no reason' / 'I don't know why I did it' (§§17-18)2.5 Summary discussion 3 The Unity of Action3.1 An extra feature? (§19)3.2 Further intention (§§20-21)3.3 The A-D order (§§22-23, 26)3.4 Intention and foresight (§§24-25, 27)3.5 Summary discussion 4 Knowledge Without Observation4.1 Raising difficulties (§28)4.2 False avenues of escape (§§29-30)4.3 Beginning to sketch a solution (§§31-32)4.4 Summary discussion 5 Practical Reasoning5.1 A difference in form (§33)5.2 Calculation (§33-35)5.3 The role of 'wanting' (§§35-36)5.4 The guise of the good (§37-41)5.5 '... an order which is there ...' (§§42-43)5.6 Summary discussion 6 Practical Knowledge6.1 The Thomistic background6.2 'A form of description of events' (§§46-48)6.3 The cause of what it understands (§§44-45, 48)6.4 Doing without knowing?6.5 Practical knowledge through perception?6.6 Summary discussion 7 Concluding Discussion7.1 Intentional and voluntary (§49)7.2 Intention for the future (§§50-52) Glossary of TermsBibliography

Elizabeth Anscombe's Intention has emerged as one of the most influential texts of twentieth century analytic philosophy, despite the fact that its central arguments are notoriously difficult to understand. John Schwenkler has written an accessible and insightful commentary that will be invaluable for students and experts alike. Just as Anscombe's commentary on Wittgenstein's Tractatus aimed to rescue its legacy from its most influential supporters, so too Schwenkler's commentary clears away decades of empiricist misinterpretations and misappropriations, allowing readers to see Anscombe's masterwork with fresh eyes. It is a remarkable achievement, worthy of widespread attention.