Ascribing intentions in language
Let's play the game of analysing language.
My position on language is that when we can see disrepancies between what is happening and what is said, there is usually a deeper reality, and the disrepancies in language can be ascribed to linguistic pragmatics (the science that studies language in it's context). Natural languages are not formal languages.
"Hamas is trying to achieve some political gains out of this."
First, there is the problem of ascribing intentions to a group. Are intentions only personal, or are there two kinds? What about if different individuals have different intentionswithin the same group. What's the group's intentions then? But putting that aside for now. Now it may be possible that no one on the Hamas front tries to achieve political gains by getting their asses kicked by the Israelis. It may be possible that they are all fighting valiantly their opponent. Who, one could ask, in their right mind, could put their lives at risk just so they can score points "on the arab street"? Yet, to an outsider, perhaps an opponent of Hamas, they can see the effect that their dogged resistance can have: perpetuating the conflict and gaining popular support and sympathy through their struggle on the arab and muslim street. Is this valid?
There are maybe three things: the intention of the actor.
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Let's consider an animal: the dog is trying to
There is in our brain the intetional side: the conscious side that makes plan and can explicitly describe his actions and intentions. I'm trying to put the glass on the table. Then there is the non-conscious, habit driven or whatever. For example, the dog is not trying consciously to
