In my two most recent posts (here and here) in this series on the science of purpose, I introduced the notion of intentionality as an intrinsic characteristic of living systems. Much has been written throughout the history of philosophy on what constitutes intentionality. Here I will discuss the key concepts essential to this subject.
One historically dominant position on intentionality has been the Brentano thesis, proffered by 19th-century German philosopher and psychologist Franz Brentano. He maintained that it is intentionality which demarcates the psychic from the physical. The main competing position, held by Descartes, Locke, and others, identified consciousness as the essential criterion for separating mind from matter. In making the case for biologic intentionality, I will explain why it is most reasonable to side with Descartes rather than Brentano on this matter.
The Definition of Intentionality
What all philosophies agree on is that the definition of intentionality includes the act of directedness both about and toward something. Now, according to the ontology of dispositionalism, all objects have intrinsic powers directed toward their characteristic manifestations. But the fundamental distinction between mental and inanimate directedness is this: for an entity to direct intention to something external, it must contain a representation of the object to which that intention is directed. Intention requires specific reference in order to have meaning. Thus, representational directedness fulfills the requirement that intentionality can only be explained within a theory of meaning, i.e., aboutness.
It is easy to see how this applies to mental states, including desire, hunger, thirst, anger, kindness, etc. Quite in contrast, a wooden log directed towards combustion when put to flame requires no such internal reference for the combustion to occur. The same is true for all inanimate directedness, such as rainfall creating a watershed, magma generating a volcano, ozone absorbing ultraviolet radiation, helium lifting a balloon, CO2 quenching a fire, etc.
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