French Literature Reviews - 2026
V. Aucouturier, L'Intention en action
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
L’intention en action
Valérie Aucouturier
Vrin - Bibliothèque d’Histoire de la Philosophie Poche
272 p. — ISBN 978-2-7116-2515-4 — March 2018
Expressing one's intentions means describing a present or future action. Therefore, a better understanding of intention requires a philosophy of action. Since the publication in 1957 of Elizabeth Anscombe's eponymous monograph on intention, this thesis has been the subject of numerous misunderstandings that this book aims to clear up.
Chief among these is the idea that intention could be logically isolated as a pure state of mind, entirely independent of the action it targets. From this initial pitfall emerges the belief, promoted among others by Donald Davidson and John R. Searle, that intention could be treated as a special kind of cause of action, or as a state of mind to which the world must adapt through the execution of the action. But intention does more than simply coincide with action; it does more than merely elucidate its meaning. It constitutes a specific mode of description for what happens when what is happening is an action. It thus reveals the unity of action across time. Before it can be distinguished from action, intention is first and foremost in action.
The analytical philosophy of action developed significantly during the twentieth century, particularly through foundational debates concerning agency, mental states, and causation. Central figures such as Elizabeth Anscombe, Donald Davidson, and John R. Searle shaped how contemporary philosophers conceptualize the relationship between human intentions and practical behavior. Within this broader intellectual tradition, scholars continually reexamine how language, mental attitudes, and physical movements intersect when agents deliberate and execute choices in everyday life.
Readers interested in the intersection of philosophy of action, philosophy of mind, and the historical reception of analytic theories may find this volume relevant. Expressing one's intentions means describing a present or future action. Since the publication in 1957 of Elizabeth Anscombe's eponymous monograph on intention, this thesis has been the subject of numerous misunderstandings that this book aims to clear up.