Intention

Intention is a mental state that represents a commitment to carrying out an action or actions in the future. Intention involves mental activities such as planning and forethought.

Definition

Folk psychology explains human behavior on the basis of mental states, including beliefs, desires, and intentions. Mental mechanisms, including intention, explain behavior in that individuals are seen as actors who have desires and who attempt to achieve goals that are directed by beliefs. Thus, an intentional action is a function to accomplish a desired goal and is based on the belief that the course of action will satisfy a desire.

There is also a theoretical distinction between intentionality (intentional actions), and a mental state of intention for the future. Searle (1983) labeled these as intention-in-action and prior intention respectively. Prior intentions reflect forethought about intentions-in-action; prior intentions do not need to be carried out to be considered intentions. An unfulfilled intention is a prior intention that has no action associated with it.

Intention (criminal law)

In criminal law, intent is one of three general classes of mens rea necessary to constitute a conventional as opposed to strict liability crime. A more formal, generally-synonymous legal term is scienter: intent or knowledge of wrongdoing.

Definitions

Intent is defined in R v Mohan as "the decision to bring about a prohibited consequence."

A range of words represents shades of intent in criminal laws around the world. The mental element, or mens rea, of murder, for example, is traditionally expressed as malice aforethought, and the interpretations of malice, "maliciously" and "wilfully" vary between pure intent and recklessness depending on the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed and the seriousness of the offence.

A person intends a consequence they foresee that it will happen if the given series of acts or omissions continue, and desires it to happen. The most serious level of culpability, justifying the most serious levels of punishment, is achieved when both these components are actually present in the accused's mind (a "subjective" test). A person who plans and executes a crime is considered, rightly or wrongly, a more serious danger to the public than one who acts spontaneously (perhaps because they are less likely to get caught), whether out of the sudden opportunity to steal, or out of anger to injure another. But intent can also come from the common law viewpoint as well.

Intention (book)

Intention is a 1957 book by the philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe.

Summary

Anscombe argues that the concept of intention is central to our understanding of ourselves as rational agents. The intentions with which we act are identified by the reasons we give in answer to questions concerning why we perform actions. Such reasons usually form a hierarchy that constitutes a practical syllogism of which action itself is the conclusion. Hence our actions are a form of active practical knowledge that normally leads to action. Anscombe compares the direction of fit of such knowledge to a shopping list's relation to one's purchases, and contrasts it with the direction of fit characteristic of a list of those purchases made by someone observing one shopping. She contends that the mistake of post-medieval philosophy is to think that all knowledge is of the latter kind.

Scholarly reception

Intention initiated extensive discussion of intentional action and its explanation.

References

Notes

Bibliography

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often carried out as a result of despair, the cause of which is frequently attributed to a mental disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder,alcoholism, or drug abuse, as well as stress factors such as financial difficulties, troubles with interpersonal relationships, and bullying.Suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to method of suicide such as firearms and poisons, treating mental illness and drug misuse, and improving economic conditions. Although crisis hotlines are common, there is little evidence for their effectiveness.

The most commonly used method of suicide varies between countries and is partly related to the availability of effective means. Common methods include: hanging, pesticide poisoning, and firearms. Suicide resulted in 842,000 deaths in 2013. This is up from 712,000 deaths in 1990. This makes it the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. Rates of completed suicides are higher in men than in women, with males three to four times more likely to kill themselves than females. There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year. Non-fatal suicide attempts may lead to injury and long-term disabilities. In the Western world, attempts are more common in young people and are four times more common in females than in males.

McCartney (album)

McCartney is the debut studio album by English musician Paul McCartney. It was issued on Apple Records in April 1970 after McCartney had resisted attempts by his fellow Beatles to have the release delayed to allow for Apple's previously scheduled titles, notably the band's Let It Be album. McCartney recorded his eponymous solo album during a period of depression and confusion, following John Lennon's private announcement in September 1969 that he was leaving the Beatles, and the conflict over its release further estranged McCartney from his bandmates. A press release in the form of a self-interview, supplied with UK promotional copies of McCartney, led to the announcement of the group's break-up on 10 April 1970.

Apart from wife Linda's vocal contributions, McCartney performed the entire album by himself, playing every instrument. Featuring loosely arranged (and in some cases, unfinished) home recordings, McCartney explored the back-to-basics style that had been the original concept for the Let It Be project in 1969. Partly as a result of McCartney's role in officially ending the Beatles' career, the album received an unfavourable response from the majority of music critics, although the song "Maybe I'm Amazed" was consistently singled out for praise. Commercially, McCartney benefited from the publicity surrounding the break-up; it held the number 1 position for three weeks on the US Billboard 200 chart and peaked at number 2 in Britain. The album was reissued in June 2011 as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection.

Suicide (b-boy move)

A suicide is a sudden drop to a breakdancer's and B-boys back. They are frequently employed as take out moves burn moves and freeze. Ideally, suicides are very flashy and painful-looking moves. Good suicides elicit exclamations of "ouch" from onlookers and can even be comical to a certain degree. They usually end with the breaker perfectly still, enhancing the image that he has injured himself. Despite appearances, different training and techniques are used to minimize the pain of suicides. A suicide is also used to demonstrate a possible ending to a conflict that groups may have with each other.

Invention of the move has been credited to Frosty Freeze of Rock Steady Crew, and Powerful Pexster of New York City Breakers with the style and distinction of the Suicide move we all are known executed from a front flip to shoulder Trac .

Suicides compared to Freezes

Suicides have elements in common with freezes. However, while both suicides and freezes end with a cessation of movement, there is a large distinction to be made. Freezes are precisely controlled techniques meant to draw attention to the actual frozen position. Suicides draw attention while in motion, convey an impression of being dangerously out-of-control, and often leave the breaker lying prone on the floor in an unremarkable position.