A simple definition of 'intentionally'.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Philosophy of Mind
• Psychology

Background:

• The folk concept of intentional action has been a subject of debate among cognitive scientists.
• Existing models struggle to fully explain nuanced judgments of intentionality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and empirically validate a new account of the folk concept of intentional action.
• To demonstrate that intentionality judgments are fundamentally linked to causal dependence on desire.

Main Methods:

• Development of a causal dependence theory of intentional action.
• Empirical studies testing predictions across everyday and unusual causal scenarios.
• Analysis of how norm violations interact with causal structure in intentionality judgments.

Main Results:

• People's judgments of causation and intentionality closely track each other.
• The theory explains phenomena like the side-effect effect.
• Norm violation effects on intentionality are contingent on the situation's causal structure.

Conclusions:

• The folk concept of intentional action is built upon intuitive causal cognition.
• Understanding intuitive causation is key to defining intentional action.
• This model offers a unified explanation for diverse intentionality judgments.