ABSTRACT
A one aspect of development which relates to dilemma recognition is the interpretation of contradiction. It is proposed that through the cognitive achievement of reversibility, a person becomes able not only to recognize dilemmas in the traditional sense, but also to construct new dilemmas through the ability to invent negations for any event. The chapter outlines characteristics of dilemmas. The question remains of how humans come to think about events as dilemmas. Developmentally, there appear to be two processes which play a major role in the recognition of dilemmas. These are: the development of intention and the interpretation of contradiction. The chapter provides a model for describing the developmental process of intention. This model is based on various components or facets of the concept “intention” which may have distinct developmental courses dependent on the cognitive abilities necessary for their occurrence. This model of the development of intention has been used to examine the developmental process of recognizing dilemmas.
