ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author purpose is not to formulate a specific theory of intentional action, still less to provide it with a physiological basis. Intentions clearly can be mistaken for causes. It is easy to construct such ‘trick’ programs that require reference both to the program and to the machine in order to construct a satisfactory explanation for what happens when the program is run. Moreover, even in the case of an IF-THEN clause the fact that the truth of the IF statement leads to the THEN statement being obeyed is a matter of logical necessity not of physical causation. Moreover, intentional action does not exclude a great degree of automaticity. The sceptical machine analyst might well, at this point, make the move made by some experimental psychologists, i.e. to doubt whether these mental ascriptions are valid, given their subjective nature.
