V

Anscombe does not discuss degree (or intensity) of intention. But is there such a thing as a strong versus weaker intention? Surely, everyone intends to write a good paper. What makes some people’s intention stronger and therefore causes them to put more efforts into writing the paper than those having weaker intention of writing the paper? Two people both intend to help the poor. He gives $5 and feels good about himself for doing that. She empties her wallet and feels that she has not helped enough. What distinguishes the two? Should they be distinguished? It can be said that one’s mind often contains multiple intentions. As Walt Whitman so famously wrote in Song of Myself, “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.” One can have multiple intentions at any given time. How do the multitude of intentions end up represented in an action? Because there can be multiple intentions present at the time of action, these multiple intentions could pull a potential action in all directions. Which intention or intentions take precedence and end up being the one(s) causing the action may be a matter of competition among the intentions. Imagine man as a machine. Perhaps all the intentions are adjusted by their various intensity with each one breaking down to its four causes and the agent’s action is thereby computed. Intentions can also affect one another as if in a complex system. Each intention can change and can interact with other intentions.