Intentionalism

The intentionalist school of textual criticism was initiated by Fredson Bowers and, today, is best represented by G. Thomas Tanselle. As its name suggests, the intentionalist school is interested in intention. This interest, however, is not just any kind of intention, the center of the attention is in authorial intention. Authorial intention, Tanselle explains, can be initial, medial or final, but more often than not editors dedicate all their energy to recover the "final authorial intention" which becomes the center of their editorial projects.