John Schwenkler, Anscombe’s Intention: A Guide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. ISBN978-0-19-005203-4, $24.95, Pbk

Excerpt

G.E.M. Anscombe’s short monograph (Intention, 2nd edn (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1963)), that is the subject of John Schwenkler’s guidebook, is a perplexing work which has nevertheless been highly influential in the philosophy of action since its publication. To have a guide for readers could certainly be very useful, and philosophers are fortunate to have this book by Schwenkler, as well as a Routledge guide (Rachael Wiseman, Routledge Philosophical Guidebook to Anscombe’s Intention (Abingdon: Routledge, 2016)), published within the span of three years. That such books are coming out now, some sixty years after the publication of Intention, reflects both the enduring value of Anscombe’s contribution to the philosophy of action and the difficulties presented by the ideas found in the book. …