Frank Underwood's Intentions

House of Cards is all about how Frank Underwood sees the world. From his point of view, the plan is essential to get what he intends to have. The American philosopher Donald Davidson defended reductionism about the content of mental states by arguing that acting and planning are guided by desires and beliefs. Contemporary philosopher Michael Bratman offers a different view: Intentions are mental states that have a distinctive functional role. Specifically, they guide action planning. House of Cards offers many examples that illustrate Bratman's antireductionist view of intention. Frank may be shamelessly bad, but so far he has always found a way out of trouble. To understand his success, we need to “take a step back and look at the bigger picture” to appreciate the scaffolding of action planning. It is a matter of not merely beliefs and desires, but also intentions, that lead to Frank's success.