Description

Article written by Frank Richardson and 2009 DPDF Revitalizing Development Studies Fellow Nicolette D. Manglos, featured in the Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 19, No. 5-6:

In order to rescue human intentionality and mental causation from determinism and reductionism, it is necessary to clarify what we mean by intentionality, which is often coloured by a problematic, one-sided instrumentalism in both current theory and the wider culture. Rethinking this narrow instrumentalism requires distinguishing clearly between what has been termed ‘means-end’ and ‘constituent- end’ human practices and appreciating the primacy of the latter in human affairs. It also requires appreciation of the fact that social enquiry itself is a form of (constituent-end) practice that is shaped by at its core, and shapes in turn, the aims and practices of the human community.