Purposivism is best understood as a form of intentionalism that is concerned with objectified intentions. Given the closeness in meaning of the terms intentions and purposes, it is confusing that intentionalism and purposivism are frequently distinguished in the legal interpretation literature. The term intentionalism tends to be used for positions that focus on relatively specific communicative, application, or legal intentions of the legislature that enacted the statute, while purposivism is reserved for positions that give central place to more general legal or policy purposes that might reasonably be attributed to the statute.