The phrase "a certain intention" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a specific but not explicitly defined intention or purpose behind an action or statement.
Example: "The artist's work conveys a certain intention that invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences."
Alternatives: "a specific intention" or "a particular intention".
"When I did Arthur, I did that with a certain intention.
Thus, she implicitly rejected anything like (7*), the causal analysis of 'acting with a certain intention' that Davidson apparently endorsed.
Once Jesus says certain words with a certain intention, is it coherent to say that Peter still has a choice about whether or not to betray Jesus?
I will assume that this means, at least, that the reader would understand a certain intention and know that it was the author's intention, and that the work would provide this knowledge.
The second problem is more a question: whether 'the relation of being done in execution of a certain intention, or being done intentionally, is a causal relation between act and intention.' (Anscombe 1983, p. 95) Anscombe denies that it is.
Further, agent causation is said to be essentially purposive; its exercise is an agent's causing her coming to have a certain intention for a certain reason (O'Connor 2000b: 68–74; Donagan 1987: 168 makes similar claims).
I am certain that Torres has good intentions in her response to letter-writer Bob Frutos' suggestion about the idea of a puppy mill ordinance.
We approached this with the intention to evoke certain styles from memory rather than directly studying something in particular.
(Gricean theories, for example, say that what counts is using the expression with a certain communicative intention).
According to Summer (1998); when a person has certain intentions, he is sure to direct his behavior so that it runs parallel with the objective in achieving the intention.
Just that I intend to influence other people to behave in a certain way, or to form certain intentions, does not make my attitude intersubjective in such a way as to provide a stance for mutual critical assessment.
