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已经证明了在解释社会现实的冲突中意图归因的有效性。当意图被集体归因于社会群体，而这些群体的行为被认为是由这些意图引起时，这一点尤其正确。意图的归因与社会相关，并不局限于特定的文化或时间。科学网络试图分析，在多大程度上，意向性的归因可以被视为相互观察和监管的特定媒介，以及分配个人和集体责任的工具。我们的目标是关注中世纪社会中个人和群体的意图和计划的假设。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。出于这个目的，将我们的探究构建在法律、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似乎是合理的。在此背景下，我们试图研究意向性的外显反思与意向性归因的社会实践之间的相互关系。在这种情况下，我们特别关注社会调节过程或意图归因的指导。个人经常能够将那些被相关人士认为是适当的意图归因于对有意行为的特定社会知识。因此，意图的归因不是随机的，而是由后天的经验和社会惯例决定的。由于这些期望在一定程度上是可预测的，因此通常可以在特定方向上刺激意图的归因。因此，社会规则和期望被积极使用，以表明某种行为是由特定意图引起的。尽管意图和计划在整个中世纪经常被描述并归因于不同的来源，但迄今为止，在历史研究中尚未建立调查意图的方法方法和理论。为了发展一个适当的概念，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，并使它们适应历史问题。该网络的合作目标是编写一份关于欧洲中世纪意向性归属的出版物。到目前为止，还没有这样的一卷书，因为这个主题还没有被系统地讨论过。

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.