Re: [Fis] Mind, matter, meaning and information

Probably my last message for a while, as I said. Thanks again for your
help.

Subject: Re: [Fis] Mind, matter, meaning and information

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Saturday, March 17, 2007, 2:24:37 PM, Stanley N. Salthe wrote:

>>>>A mind is a user or processor of intentional information.
>>> S: That is to say, it initiates finality.
>>
>>Perhaps, I don't think in these terms.
> SS: Well, using 'intentionality' seems to me to implicitly use
> finality. Consider {propensity {purpose}}. Intent is necessarilly
> directional, and directionality is all that is left is the particular goal
> is removed.

OK, now I understand why we keep failing to connect. In philosophy of
mind "intentionality" refers to the concept revived by Brentano,
meaning "aboutness". It has nothing to do with intent except that,
like all other mental phenomena, intent is intentional, i.e. there's
some content, there must be something that you intend to do. I agree
with Brentano that intentionality is "the mark of the mental", because
everything that's mental is intentional, and everything that's
physical is not.

Intentionality is central to my thinking, so I don't think there's any
point in continuing this particular exchange. If you'd like to start
again on the basis of this revised understanding then I will respond,
but otherwise I'll keep quiet for a while, as I said in my previous
message, replying to John. I'm really sorry to have wasted your time
by failing to allow for the fact that not everyone who's interested in
information has a phil of mind perspective.

-- 
Robin Faichney
<http://www.robinfaichney.org/>
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