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Questions tagged [intentionality]

Intentionality/Intentions defined as; Doing, as Actions, as Plans, and as Belief.

"Philosophical perplexity about intention begins with its appearance in three guises: intention for the future, as when I intend to complete this entry by the end of the month; the intention with which someone acts, as I am typing with the further intention of writing an introductory sentence; and intentional action, as in the fact that I am typing these words intentionally. "

"The principal task of the philosophy of intention is to uncover and describe the unity of these three forms. This project matters for questions in the philosophy of mind, but also for ethics, where it is involved in the doctrine of double effect, for epistemology, and most obviously, for the nature of practical reason." [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/intention/] Copyright © 2014 by Kieran Setiya

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Do computers use logic?

I know we refer to computers as using logic, logic gates and the like, but is this just us ascribing human capacities to the machines? It sounds like a case of us giving more meaning to the machines than they deserve. I've read about things like…
adkane
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How does Putnam's twin earth thought experiment disprove functionalism?

In the twin Earth thought experiment Putnam determines that meanings are not in the head. Later interpretations, by himself and by others, take it to falsify functionalism. It seems to me that the argument can't disprove functionalism, and even that…
Amit Hagin
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Meaning in use and naturalisation of intentionality

What is the relation between pragmatism and intentionality? Two different enterprises in philosophy seem to be well established and yet contradicting: Inferential Pragmatism: from Wittgenstein and Sellars to Rorty, Brandom and Mcdowell, There's an…
Amit Hagin
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Is belief an intentional act?

In what respect are we to understand the proposition, "I choose to believe x", and is there a significant difference between the proposition, "I choose to believe x" and "I choose to drive to San Diego this weekend"? Which epistemological systems…
Mark Francis
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Name for the "cut" between an agent and its environment

This question broadly regards the Denettian "intentional stance" to agency, which says that on the most fundamental level there are only physical things in the world, but nevertheless for certain complex physical entities (and people in particular)…
N. Virgo
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What is the difference between properties and sets?

Is there a difference between properties and sets? To me, it would seem that the property of being non-self-identical is the same thing as the empty set, and the property of being (identical to x OR identical to y) is the same thing as the set…
user107952
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Can there be intention without an intender?

Many refutations of Descartes cogito go along the line of: All Descartes really proved is that thinking is happening, but there can be thinking without there being a thinker to do the thinking. Just as there can be raining without a "rainer", or…
Alexander S King
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Does Husserl distinguish `sensuous contents' from 'sensuous mental processes' in §85 of Ideas I?

In §85 of Ideas I, Husserl classifies all mental processes into intentional and non-intentional mental processes. The class of non-intentional mental processes contains all sensuous mental processes. Among the former [class of non-intentional…
emi
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What arguments have there been on the relative merits of praxeology vs rationality?

Suppose you know what someone's goals are, and how much they value each of their goals. Then if you observe their behavior in a given situation, how can you understand why they acted the way they did? If you ask someone in who subscribes to…
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Philosophy and the question 'When is a robot considered alive and thinking?'

I originally posted this question in Robotics Stack Exchange, but it was deemed off-topic there and it was recommended I post here: I was watching a youtube video of a robot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVlhMGQgDkY At a point in the video when…
mrnovice
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In what ways is Merleau-Ponty following (late/unpublished) Husserl?

... or, to put it differently: to what extent has Husserl already ancitipated in his unpublished writings what Merleau-Ponty has been developing later? The standard narrative goes that Husserl remained an idealist (and dualist) throughout his life…
jan
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Decisions, intentions and actions

I need help with a practical question about intention and action. I had a brownie. I decided to eat half a brownie now, and save half for later. Then, a few moments after making that decision, I found myself finishing the very last bite of the whole…
superiggy
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Can there be intentionality without consciousness?

Searle distinguishes between intrinsic intentionality of the mind... vs 'as-if' intentionality of physical objects like a computer, book, picture etc... that depend on conscious minds to exhibit intentionality. However, don't the laws of physics…
Ameet Sharma
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What's the difference between intentionality and meaning?

Intentionality is for something to be about something. But this definition could also suffice for meaning: something can have meaning if it is about something. What is the major distinction between intentionality and meaning? I understand that…
RECURSIVE FARTS
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Intentionality and emergentism in Marxist theories?

This question came to mind when reading about Adorno and Horkheimer's Culture Industry, but it might apply to any Marxist theory where the bourgeoisie/capitalist class performs some action to defend its interests. Adorno and Horkheimer state in…
Alexander S King
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