Intentionality is a philosophical term that describes the elements of mental states that are directed at things or ideasthe fact that thinking, feeling, hoping, believing, desiring are about things. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy. Generally speaking, the different medieval treatments of intentionality depend on whether a philosopher is more inclined to regard the minds intentionality as a special kind of action or rather as a kind of relation from which issue different accounts of the mode of intentional inexistence. With the possible exceptions of avicenna and averroes, medieval thinkers did not consider themselves philosophers at all. Medieval philosophy, understood as a project of independent philosophical inquiry, began in baghdad. It bridges contemporary and medieval discussions and claims a new reading focusing on gradational ontology and monism. It has long been a truism of the history of philosophy that intentionality is an invention of the medieval period, and within this standard narrative, the central place of arabic philosophy has alw. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy medieval philosophy. In recent decades, philosophers frequently refer to intentionality, roughly, that feature of beliefs, desires, and other mental states in virtue of which they are of or about something or more generally, possess content. The essays of this volume explore the conceptual relationships among intentionality, cognition and mental representation as conceived by some of the greatest medieval philosophers, including aquinas, scotus, ockham and buridan, and some of their lesser known, but in their own time equally influential contemporaries. Dominik perler, professor of philosophy at the university of basle switzerland, specializes in medieval and early modern philosophy. The idea fell out of discussion with the end of the medieval scholastic period, but in recent times was resurrected by franz brentano and later adopted by edmund husserl.
Literally, this means a tension or stretching, but it is used by scholastic philosophers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as a technical term for a concept. This medieval terminology was reintroduced by the austrian philosopher franz brentano in his 1874 book psychology from an empirical standpoint 1995, although brentano himself did not use the word intentionality. Intentionality aristotelian cognitive theory in the. The middle ages saw a great flourishing of philosophy. Intentionality routledge encyclopedia of philosophy. Ancient and medieval theories of intentionality brill. Any intentional act must have the form m p m intentional mode in the same way as any speech act must have the form f p f ilocutionary force. Intentionality directedness, aboutness is both a central topic in contemporary philosophy of mind, phenomenology and the cognitive sciences, and one of the themes with which both analytic and continental philosophers have separately engaged starting from brentano and edmund husserls groundbreaking logical investigations 1901 through roderick m. Survey of the idea of an intentio as employed by the leading medieval philosophers. Famously he remarked that every mental phenomenon is characterized by what the scholastics of the.
Today, intentionality is a live concern among philosophers of mind and language. When brentano adapted the notion of intentionality from medieval philosophy he had three purposes in mind. For this and other reasons, theories of cognition have been a crucial theme for historians of medieval philosophy and a privileged subject in the literature. The present book is concerned with these biologically fundamental capacities, and, though third in the sequence, in effect it provides the philosophical foundations for the other two. But some nonmental phenomena seem to display intentionality toopictures, signposts, and words, for example. Confessions by augustine of hippo, the consolation of philosophy by boethius, philosophical writings by john duns s.
Kyle chayka, the art critic and author of the longing for less, recommends five books on the philosophy that underpins the present fad for minimalist selfhelp. Though intentionality is derived from intentio, a technical term which had wide use in medieval philosophy, and intentio is itself a translation of technical terms from premedieval arabic philosophy, modern usage of the term is standardly traced to franz brentanos 1874 psychology from an empirical. The essays in this volume explore the intricacies and varieties of the conceptual relationships among intentionality, cognition, and mental representation as conceived by some of the greatest. In medieval logic and philosophy, the latin word intentio was used for. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval. Gyula klima is professor of philosophy at fordham university, doctor of the hungarian academy of sciences, director of the society for medieval logic and metaphysics, and editor of the societys proceedings. It is a commonplace in the history of ideas that one of the few medieval philosophical contributions preserved in modern philosophical thought is the idea that mental phenomena are distinguished from physical phenomena by their intentionality. Buy the intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy ebook. The sources of intentionality by uriah kriegel, towards nonbeing. It is commonly supposed that certain elements of medieval philosophy are uncharacteristically preserved in modern philosophical thought through the idea that mental phenomena are distinguished from physical phenomena by their intentionality, their intrinsic directedness toward some object.
The new essays in this volume examine the full scope of merleaupontys philosophy, from his central and abiding concern with the nature of perception and the bodily constitution of intentionality. Medieval philosophers routinely described ordinary physical phenomena, such as reflections in mirrors or sounds in the air, as exhibiting intentionality, while they described what modern philosophers would take to be typically mental phenomena, such as sensation and imagination, as ordinary physical processes. Intentionality is recognized as raising serious puzzles already in the early to midfifth century bce, arguably first by parmenides, but then indisputably by sophists responding to him, including gorgias and protagoras. Get e books representation and objects of thought in medieval philosophy on pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi and audiobook for free. Nicole wyatt, intentionality, cognition, and mental. Historians of medieval philosophy have always paid attention to the topic of intentionality. These theses were all shared by the standard medieval theories of concepts. For medieval authors, the analysis of the metaphysics and the mechanisms of human cognition became over time one of the most important instruments for approaching a bundle of basic philosophical and theological questions, such as the nature of universals, the mindworld relation. One cannot understand it unless one carefully evaluates how it was used by a specific author within a specific context, quite often in close connection with other notions. In philosophy, intentionality is the power of minds and mental states to be about, to represent, or to stand for, things, properties and states of affairs.
The arabic origins of intentionality it has long been a truism of the history of philosophy that intentionality is an invention of. The term intentionality derives from the medieval latin intentio. Fodor identifies five nonnegotiable constraints on any theory of concepts. For a brief history of the terminology, and further references, see crane 1998a.
Jack zupko aptly compares the medieval notion of intentionality to a swiss army knife p. Intentionality internet encyclopedia of philosophy. This page contains a list of the best books on medieval philosophy. This book offers a history of the idea that human thought is structured like a. The book should serve as a mythbuster and goto book for medieval theories of intentionality, cognition, and mental representation, and also as a source of inspiration for contemporary philosophers of mind. This acclaimed book by gyula klima is available at in several formats for your ereader. Mental representation in medieval philosophy stanford. In the last century they were brought afresh into the limelight by brentano. One major reason for the interest in intentionality in medieval philosophy is that it has been widely recognized that franz brentano was reviving a. This volume analyses ancient and medieval theories of intentionality in various contexts. Intentionality in medieval arabic philosophy deborah l. In its conclusion, the book claims that intentionality in mulla sadra combines ontological and. It has long been a truism of the history of philosophy that intentionality is an invention of the medieval period, and within this standard narrative, the central place of arabic philosophy has always been acknowledged. It has long been a truism of the history of philosophy that intentionality is an invention of the medieval period, and within this standard narrative, the central place of arabic philosophy.
The first extensive discussions are in plato, who explicitly thematizes the difficulties in several. Intentionality intentionality is a central concept in philosophy of mind and in husserls phenom enology. Medieval philosophy places heavy emphasis on the theological. He also claimed that it is the intentionality of mental phenomena that. Now, to help students and researchers make sense of the gargantuanand, often, dauntingly complexbody of literature on the main traditions of thinking that stem from the greek heritage of late antiquity, this new fourvolume collection is the latest addition to routledges acclaimed critical concepts in philosophy series. The major role played by intentionality in affairs of the mind led brentano 1884 to regard intentionality as the mark of the mental. Intentionality in ancient philosophy stanford encyclopedia of. It is commonly supposed that certain elements of medieval philosophy are uncharacteristically preserved in modern philosophical thought through the idea that mental phenomena are distinguished from physical phenomena by their intentionality, their. The arabic origins of intentionality it has long been a truism of the history of philosophy that intentionality is an invention of the medieval period. The essays of this volume explore the conceptual relationships among intentionality, cognition and mental representation as conceived by some of the greatest medieval.
Intentionality massachusetts institute of technology. Adam wodeham on the intentionality of cognitions robert pasnau intentionality and final causes 301 cyrille michon intentionality and protothoughts index of ancient and medieval authors 343 index of modern authors 345. How can physical brain processeselectric currents and chemical concentrationsbe about things. In recent decades, philosophers frequently refer to intentionality.
Intentionality, in phenomenology, the characteristic of consciousness whereby it is conscious of somethingi. This volume translates brentanos intentionality into medieval psychological and ontological. To say of an individuals mental states that they have intentionality is to say that they are mental representations or that they have contents. Representation and objects of thought in medieval philosophy. The problems of intentionality the problems of intentionality have exercised philosophers since the dawn of their subject. There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people from all over the world. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in. Project muse intentionality, cognition, and mental. The logic and metaphysics of intentionality by graham. Special emphasis on the theory of species intelligible and sensible, and on the esse objectivum, esse subjectivum distinction.
A medieval swedish philosopher on life by robert andrews. It is commonly supposed that certain elements of medieval philosophy are uncharacteristically. Concepts and meaning in medieval philosophy fordham. Intentionality is a philosophical concept defined as the power of minds to be about, to represent, or to stand for, things, properties and states of affairs. This book is a critical and analytical survey of the major attempts, in modern philosophy, to deal with the phenomenon of intentionality those of descartes, brentano, meinong, husserl, frege, russell, bergmann, chisholm, and sellars. Ancient and medieval theories of intentionality studien. The best books on the philosophy of mind five books. Though intentionality is derived from intentio, a technical term which had wide use in medieval philosophy, and intentio is itself a translation of technical terms from pre medieval arabic philosophy, modern usage of the term is standardly traced to franz brentanos 1874 psychology from an empirical. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy klima, gyula published by fordham university press klima, gyula.
Once the investigation is properly framed, it is clear that philosophical interest in intentionality can be traced all the way back to the origins of western philosophy. Indeed, husserl calls intentionality the fundamental property of consciousness and the principle theme of phenomenology. Critical concepts in philosophy is a wellestablished series in routledges major works publishing programme. Designed to meet research, reference, and teaching needs across the humanities and social sciences, routledge major works gather together the best and most influential work on particular concepts, subjects, and individuals. The essays of this volume explore the conceptual relationships among intentionality, cognition and mental representation as conceived by some of the greatest medieval philosophers, including aquinas, scotus, ockham and buridan, and some of their lesser known, but in.
Intentions and intentionality in medieval arabic philosophy. Stephen read surveys the relationships between the psychology and logic of mental representations comparing some medieval doctrines with the recently very influential approach of jerry fodor. Intentionality in ancient philosophy stanford encyclopedia. About we ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy ed. Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the middle ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the western roman empire in the 5th century to the renaissance in the 15th century. Late scholastic discussions often cite augustine, in particular book xi of his on.
Theory of intentionality by ronald mcintyre and david woodruff smith 1. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. Ancient and medieval theories of intentionality book depository. The deep insight that sustains the book is the idea that the speech act theory reflects the structure of intentionality. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy comes out this month from fordham university press. The notions of mental representation and intentionality are central to contemporary philosophy of mind and it is usually assumed that these notions, if not originated, at least were made essential to the philosophy of mind by descartes in the seventeenth century.
This book is a critical and analytical survey of the major attempts, in modern philosophy, to deal with the phenomenon of intentionalitythose of descartes. Intentionality for the cambridge encyclopedia of the. Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy book description. Pinborg eds the cambridge history of later medieval philosophy, cambridge. The essays of this volume explore the conceptual relationships among intentionality, cognition and mental representation as conceived by some of the greatest medieval philosophers, including aquinas, scotus, ockham and buridan, and some of their lesser known, but in their own time equally influential. The terminology of intentionality derives from the scholastic philosophy of the middle ages, and was revived by brentano in 1874. The concept of intentionality enables the phenomenologist to deal with the immanenttranscendent problemi. Intentionality is taken to be the crucial mental phenomenon, and its analysis involves wideranging discussions of perception, action, causation, meaning, and. The best book for you will depend on your preferred learning style and the amount of time that you want to spend reading about medieval philosophy. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short beginnerfriendly.
Intentionality, cognition, and mental representation in medieval philosophy by gyula klima, 9780823262748, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Burnyeat, professor of ancient philosophy myles, omeara, gaskin, richard, biard, joel, simons, professor of. It is commonly supposed that certain elements of medieval philosophy are uncharacteristically preserved in modern philosophical thought. This volume translates brentanos intentionality into medieval psychological and ontological discussions through sadrian theories of sense perception and mental existence. Just to be clear, there is no single best book on medieval philosophy. A survey of the problem of intentionality in medieval philosophy, including the ideas taken from earlier thinkers aristotle and the ancients, and avicenna and averroes. The seven best books on medieval philosophy the daily idea. It has long been a truism of the history of philosophy that intentionality is an invention of the medieval period, and within this standard narrative, the central place of arabic philosophy has.