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    <p>Nick -</p>
    <p>I'm not splitting hairs on you here to pester... but truly trying
      to sort out my own use of these terms.</p>
    <p>An "intention" is a passive thing in my vocabulary.  It is
      something I have not yet acted on, even though it is *about an
      action*.   In that sense I "hold" an intention (if "have" is too
      passive?).  When I actively "hold" onto an action and don't
      execute it, that is an intention.  I think.</p>
    <p>To the extent that an MRI or a good body-language reader or my
      own (unreliable?) introspective narration can provide a chronicle
      of my "intentions" they are in some way very passive "actions".  
      I suppose this is what you mean by "action"?</p>
    <p>On the other side (bracketing what we might mean by this)... an
      "intention" is *more* of an action than "having a value" or
      "having an idea" or "having a desire"?   Each of these might
      *activate* into an "intention" which then also must activate into
      an "action"?   values, ideas, desires are more passive than
      intentions? <br>
    </p>
    <p>Maybe this is an oblique tangent to what you really wanted to
      talk about.</p>
    <p>- Steve<br>
    </p>
    <blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAA5dAfrwhrih1eZSw2Ms6SbCP6U8qXJA4QjZbLJ1LuA5KkeK4A@mail.gmail.com">
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      <div dir="auto">I intend to check the mail in a few minutes.  I am
        not doing it now.  Nobody else knows of my plan until you read
        this.  Why can't I validly say that I have that intention?<br>
        <br>
        <div data-smartmail="gmail_signature">---<br>
          Frank C. Wimberly<br>
          140 Calle Ojo Feliz, <br>
          Santa Fe, NM 87505<br>
          <br>
          505 670-9918<br>
          Santa Fe, NM</div>
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      <div class="gmail_quote">
        <div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Oct 20, 2020, 2:27 PM
          <<a href="mailto:thompnickson2@gmail.com"
            moz-do-not-send="true">thompnickson2@gmail.com</a>>
          wrote:<br>
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              <p class="MsoNormal">Russ, </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">I have not had time to follow this
                thread, but just want to remind you what my first
                response to your question would be.  Intentions are not
                the sorts of thing we “have”.  They are things that we
                do.  They are of a higher order than knee jerks, or even
                apple bites,  but they are patterns in behavior all the
                same. </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">I have busy because I signed up to do
                all sorts of things in September because I had nothing
                to do, and to my horror and surprise, every thing I
                signed up for, bore fruit and now I am overwhelmed.   I
                have a prejudice against Dennett.  I think he worries
                too much about his standing with the Big Kids at Harvard
                and trying NOT to violate vernacular ways of thinking so
                much as to dent his royalties.   And I am jealous of
                him.  </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">So there.  </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">Hope you are well</p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">Nick </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">Nicholas Thompson</p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">Emeritus Professor of Ethology and
                Psychology</p>
              <p class="MsoNormal">Clark University</p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"><a
                  href="mailto:ThompNickSon2@gmail.com" target="_blank"
                  rel="noreferrer" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
                    style="color:#0563c1">ThompNickSon2@gmail.com</span></a></p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"><a
                  href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/"
                  target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"
                  moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color:#0563c1">https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/</span></a></p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
              <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
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                <p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Friam <<a
                    href="mailto:friam-bounces@redfish.com"
                    target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"
                    moz-do-not-send="true">friam-bounces@redfish.com</a>>
                  <b>On Behalf Of </b>Russ Abbott<br>
                  <b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, October 20, 2020 12:07 PM<br>
                  <b>To:</b> The Friday Morning Applied Complexity
                  Coffee Group <<a href="mailto:friam@redfish.com"
                    target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"
                    moz-do-not-send="true">friam@redfish.com</a>><br>
                  <b>Subject:</b> Re: [FRIAM] Dennett on agency</p>
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                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Not
                      sure what the point is. Larger systems can exploit
                      information and "pick of scars." Cells in that
                      sense are larger systems. I'm confused about what
                      that is supposed to add to the discussion.</span></p>
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                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Computer
                      programs can certainly be described using
                      intentional language. Does that mean that a
                      computer program can have intention? If so, that
                      seems to degrade the notion of intent. </span></p>
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                                                          <p
                                                          class="MsoNormal">--
                                                          Russ Abbott  
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                  <br>
                                                          Professor,
                                                          Computer
                                                          Science<br>
                                                          California
                                                          State
                                                          University,
                                                          Los Angeles</p>
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                  <p class="MsoNormal">On Tue, Oct 20, 2020 at 9:23 AM
                    jon zingale <<a
                      href="mailto:jonzingale@gmail.com" target="_blank"
                      rel="noreferrer" moz-do-not-send="true">jonzingale@gmail.com</a>>
                    wrote:</p>
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                  <p class="MsoNormal">... and why tornados fail to have
                    it. A key feature appears to be that agents<br>
                    have a history that makes a difference, can exploit
                    information the way a<br>
                    thermostat can. Electrons or molecular motors, for
                    instance, don't pick up<br>
                    scratches or scars. Sean Carroll adds that agents
                    participate in the arrow<br>
                    of time.<br>
                    <br>
                    Queued up to the relevant part of the discussion:<br>
                    <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yZw4wxvnVQ&ab_channel=SeanCarroll&t=1670s"
                      target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"
                      moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yZw4wxvnVQ&ab_channel=SeanCarroll&t=1670s</a><br>
                    <br>
                    <br>
                    <br>
                    --<br>
                    Sent from: <a
                      href="http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/"
                      target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"
                      moz-do-not-send="true">http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/</a><br>
                    <br>
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      <pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">- .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. .
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