Intention

Intention is a mental state representing a commitment to performing a future action or achieving a particular outcome. In everyday use, it is a plan or resolve to act in a certain way. In philosophy, intention is linked to intentionality, the aboutness of mental states: beliefs, desires, and other thoughts are directed toward objects or states of affairs.

Intention is often distinguished from motive, desire, and goal. Motives explain why a person acts; desires describe wanting; goals are desired end-states. An intention, by contrast, is a commitment to perform a specific action or refrain from it, usually within a timeframe. It can be contingent on conditions and is typically revised in light of new information.

Formation and execution: intentions arise from deliberation, planning, and practical reasoning and guide action. However, having an intention does not guarantee action; external constraints or changing circumstances can prevent execution, a phenomenon known as the intention–behavior gap. Researchers have studied strategies to strengthen execution, such as implementation intentions—specific if-then plans that link situational cues to actions.

In ethics and law, intention matters for assessing responsibility, as intentional actions carry different moral and legal weight from unintentional ones. In neuroscience and psychology, the formation and control of intentions involve frontal brain regions and networks responsible for planning and motor preparation.

In artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, 'intent' is used to describe a system's inferred goal or user aim, guiding interpretation of actions and requests.