Propositionalism about intention: shifting the burden of proof

Canadian Journal of Philosophy 49 (2):230-252 (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

ABSTRACTA widespread view in the philosophy of mind and action holds that intentions are propositional attitudes. Call this view ‘Propositionalism about Intention’. The key alternative holds that intentions have acts, or do-ables, as their contents. Propositionalism is typically accepted by default, rather than argued for in any detail. By appealing to a key metaphysical constraint on any account of intention, I argue that on the contrary, it is the Do-ables View which deserves the status of the default position, and Propositionalism which bears the burden of proof. I go on to show that this burden has not been met in the literature.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 100,865

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

On the non-propositional content of our ordinary intentions.Xavier Castellà - 2024 - Philosophical Explorations 27 (3):262-279.
Advantages of Propositionalism.Neil Sinhababu - 2015 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 96 (1):165-180.
Propositionalism Without Propositions, Objectualism Without Objects.Angela Mendelovici - 2018 - In Alex Grzankowski & Michelle Montague (eds.), Non-Propositional Intentionality. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. pp. 214-233.
Limits of propositionalism.Alex Grzankowski - 2016 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 59 (7-8):819-838.
Interpreting Intuitions.Marcus McGahhey & Neil Van Leeuwen - 2018 - In Julie Kirsch Patrizia Pedrini (ed.), Third-Person Self-Knowledge, Self-Interpretation, and Narrative. Cham: Springer Verlag. pp. 73-98.
Ludwig on Conditional Intentions.Luca Ferrero - 2015 - Methode 4 (6):61-74.

Analytics

Added to PP
2018-08-29

Downloads
120 (#179,949)

6 months
15 (#202,868)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Lucy Campbell
University of Warwick

Citations of this work

Intentions and Inquiry.Daniel C. Friedman - 2025 - Mind 134 (533):85-106.
The Goals of Moral Worth.Nathan Robert Howard - 2021 - Oxford Studies in Metaethics.
The Do-able Solution to the Interface Problem.Yair Levy - forthcoming - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.
Strong cognitivist weaknesses.Nathan Hauthaler - 2023 - Analytic Philosophy 64 (2):161-176.

View all 9 citations / Add more citations

References found in this work

Intentionality: An Essay in the Philosophy of Mind.John R. Searle - 1983 - New York: Cambridge University Press.
Intention.G. E. M. Anscombe - 1957 - Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Mental Events.Donald Davidson - 2001 - In Essays on Actions and Events. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 207-224.
Counterfactuals.David Lewis - 1973 - Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 36 (3):602-605.

View all 43 references / Add more references