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Work #736 · Mid

Intentionality

John Searle
1983 · English
Philosophical treatise on mind · American analytic philosophy

Searle's 1983 essay on intentionality as the mark of the mental and its biological basis

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Intentionality (Mid)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Intentionality

The temporal flow of intentional states.

Space

Intentionality

The mental space of intentional directedness.

Matter

Intentionality

The brain as biological substrate of mind.

Observer

Intentionality

The intentional subject directed toward the world.

Energy

Intentionality

Energies of intentional consciousness.

Information

Intentionality

Intentional content as information.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Intentionality

Searle's intentionality: extended by his Construction of Social Reality (1995) and Making the Social World (2010); debated by Dennett, Fodor, and others.