Free Will, Linguistics and Common Usage.
[some food for thought and discussion by me tongue emoticon ]
In Linguistics, “Volition” is a term where something is marked as showing where the “Intention” took place, or even if it did.
In English, we don’t have special markers for it, but we *do* have words we use.
“I did this” = ambiguous as to intent.
“I accidentally did this” = non-intentional.
“I intentionally did this” = intentional.
Now supposedly, it is “bad grammar” to mix intention and non-intention such as:
“I accidentally did this intentionally”
Mixed emotions, while difficult to express in English, are common in practice. If you knew my character, and I used the sentence, “I accidentally did this intentionally”, there’s a good chance that you will know just what I mean. Maybe you wouldn’t.
Yet, entire court cases are built around intention vs non-intention as a polar situation. But they’re not. Let me explain using synonyms.
Here are two sets of synonyms and anonyms. Can you see cases where they can easily be mixed? Can you hate your options yet still choose, for example?
volition: free will
SYNONYMS
{desire, accord, selection, option, willingness, wish, preference, choice, will, determination, election, discretion, resolution, purpose, choosing, conation}
ANTONYMS
{aversion, dislike, hate, hatred, antagonism, refusal, rejection}
Intention: goal
{aim, motive, plan, objective, hope, purpose, end, designation, point, object, drift, design, struggle, animus, impulsion}
ANTONYM
{discouragement}
This split between intention/non-intention goes beyond linguistics and court cases and into issues of “is it me who did [x]”
Your thoughts?