Intentionality


Definition. Intentional object= a mental object

	What I am thinking of, or desire or fear or whatever.


Mental object means, an object in my mind
	 

Two key features
1. The object need not exist. I may fear a ghost or whatever
	The word 'object' doesn't mean that this is literally an object; It is an
object of my mental concern 
	This is why associations with physical objects misleading here

The intentional object is the object of my thoughts

Milton feared God. 
	That identifies his mental object. 
It does not imply that God exists. 

That we fear, desire, admire, etc things does not by itself imply that these
things exist. 

2. Failure of transitivity
	Normally if x=y and y=z then x=z
But not here

	An example.
 I fear Stalin's ghost, whom I think I see in the corner
	That figure in the corner is merely an actor. my former student
But not true that
	I fear the actor

These two features way of indicating the special status of mental objects
	1. I can fear, desire, hate... things which don't exist
	2. The failure of transitivity is illuminating. I think of things under a
certain description, and the failure of identity indicates this

Intentionality identifies consciousness. 

Intentional irreducible to Nonintentional

Compare a nonmental case
	I hit Peter. and Peter is the kindest man in the room.
Then I have hit the kindest man in the room
	even if I don't know that

Contrast 
	I dislike , fear, admire, love	the kindest person in the room
All these intentional verbs. 
	I think Bill, a kind man, is in the room. 
I dislike Bill. 
I don't dislike Peter, even if in fact he is kindest man in the room. 

Oedipus desired the woman he met.
But Oedipus didn't desire his mother
	Even though that woman= his mother

To say, we think of (desire, hate, perceive....) a thing under a certain
description is a way of identifying such mental objects