An Other Intention. Social Functions of the Attribution of Intentionality in the European Middle Ages

过去几十年的几次辩论表明，在关于解释社会现实的冲突中归因于意图是有效的。事实证明，这一点尤其正确，因为意图被集体归因于社会团体，这些团体的行为被认为是由这些意图造成的。意图的归因与社会相关并不局限于特定的文化或时代。该科学网络试图分析，在多大程度上，意向性的归属可以被视为相互观察和管制的具体媒介，以及分配个人和集体责任的工具。我们的目标是关注关于中世纪社会中个人和群体的意图和计划的这样的假设。为了验证这一假设，我们想要关注中世纪不同的社会和话语结构。为此，我们似乎有理由从法律、宗教或虔诚、(道德)哲学、文学、经济、政治和跨文化互动等社会领域来构建我们的调查。在这种背景下，我们试图调查一方面对意向性的显性反思与另一方面意图归因的社会实践之间的相互关系。在这方面，我们特别关注社会监管或指导意图归属的过程。个人经常能够归因于那些被有关者认为足够的意图，这表明了对故意行为的特定社会知识。因此，意图的归因不是随机的，而是由于获得的经验和社会惯例。由于这些预期在一定程度上是可预测的，因此往往可以在特定方向上刺激对意图的归因。因此，社会规则和期望被积极地用来暗示某种行为是由特定的意图引起的。尽管在整个中世纪，意图和计划经常被描述和归因于不同类型的来源，但到目前为止，历史研究中还没有建立起调查意向性的方法论途径和理论。为了形成一个适当的概念，有必要借鉴思想史和概念史、社会史和行为学以及相关学科、哲学、文学和社会学的考虑，并使其适用于历史问题。该网络的合作努力旨在编写一本关于欧洲中世纪意向性归属的出版物。到目前为止，还没有这样的卷，因为这个主题到目前为止还没有得到系统的处理。

Several debates of the last decades have demonstrated the effectiveness of the attribution of intentions in conflicts about the interpretation of the social reality. This proves particularly true in so far as intentions are collectively attributed to social groups whose actions are considered to be caused by these intentions. That the attribution of intentions is socially relevant is not limited to a particular culture or time. The scientific network seeks to analyze to which extent the attribution of intentionality could be regarded as a specific medium of mutual observation and regulation, as well as an instrument to assign personal and collective responsibilities. We aim to focus on such assumptions about the intentions and plans of individuals and groups in medieval societies. In order to verify this assumption, we want to focus on different social and discursive configurations of the Middle Ages. For this purpose, it seems reasonable to structure our inquiry with regard to the social fields of law, religion or piety, (moral) philosophy, literature, economy, politics, and transcultural interactions.Against this background, we seek to investigate the interrelations between explicit reflections on intentionality on the one hand, and the social practices of the attribution of intentions on the other. In this context, we particularly take an interest in processes of social regulation or steering of the attribution of intentions. That individuals are frequently capable to attribute intentions which are considered to be adequate by those who are concerned points to a specific social knowledge of intentional behavior. Therefore, the attribution of intentions is not random but due to acquired experiences and social routines. Since these expectations are to a certain degree predictable, the attribution of intentions can often be stimulated in a particular direction. Social rules and expectations are thus actively used in order to suggest that a certain action was caused by a specific intent.Although intentions and plans are frequently described and attributed in different kinds of sources throughout the Middle Ages, methodological approaches and theories for the investigation of intentionality have up to now not been established in historical research. In order to develop an adequate concept, it is necessary to draw on the considerations of the intellectual and conceptual history, social history and praxeology and of related disciplines, philosophy, literature and sociology, and to adapt them to historical questions.The collaborative efforts of the network aim to prepare a publication on the attribution of intentionality in the European Middle Ages. Up to now, a volume of that kind does not exist, for this theme has so far not been treated systematically.