Intention and Personal Policies

I am about to go running; I hear on the radio that the pollen count is high; I recall my general policy of not running when the pollen count is high; and so I decide not to run. Gregory asks me for help with his homework; I recall my general policy of helping him with his homework when he asks; so I decide to help him. While making my summer plans I note my general policy of always working on some foreign language; so I ensure that my summer plans include some language study. Getting into my car I am reminded of my general policy of buckling up my seat belt when I drive; and so I do. In all these examples my practical reasoning and action are shaped by relevant general policies of mine. I will call these personal policies to indicate that I am confining my attention to the general policies of individual agents, rather than those of complex organizations like corporations or governments. Personal policies pervade our lives. A plausible model of the intelligent activity of beings like us should make room for and shed light upon the complex roles of such policies in our lives. A common way of thinking about intelligent agency is in terms of a desire-belief psychology. On this approach, the agent's desires and beliefs give her various reasons for acting in various ways, and intelligent action is the output of psychological processes primarily involving such desires and beliefs. However, even before we begin to reflect on personal policies we can see, I think, that such a desire-