Intentionality and the Mind
Intentionality
Defined by Franz Brentano
as "the mark of the mental"
Intentional states like
beliefs, desires, hopes, etc.
are always about or
directed at some object
Peculiar relation where the
object need not exist for the
mental state to be about it
Puzzle for materialists: how
physical things be related to
non-existent things?
Dennett's Intentional Stance
Daniel Dennett accepts
Brentano's view of
intentionality
Proposes a materialist,
behavioral interpretation
Key ideas:
Interpret behavior in
context and
holistically
Attribute rationality,
beliefs and desires
that would explain
behavior
Intentional stance:
treating system as
rational agent to
predict behavior
Rationality enables
attributing specific beliefs
and desires
Still leaves open how to
design intentional systems
Original vs Derived
Intentionality
Many physical things like
sentences can be "about"
things derivatively
Their intentionality is
borrowed from original
intentionality of users
Problem: AI systems seem
like they would only have
derived intentionality
But rational, active
engagement may enable
original intentionality
So if an AI can exhibit
consistent rational behavior,
it would have original
intentionality
Computers and AI
Formal Systems
Token manipulation
systems:
Tokens of types
Starting positions
Rules for manipulating
tokens
Digital systems:
Positive:
reidentification can be
perfect
Reliable:
reidentification
usually is perfect
Formal systems are self-
contained digital token
systems
Two Roles of Computers in AI
1. Inspiration for intelligence
as computation (Turing)
2. Enablement of knowledge
representation and
reasoning (early AI)
Very different roles related
to programming vs
knowledge representation
Next we'll look at these in
more detail
So in summary, the key topics
covered are:
Intentionality and Dennett's
interpretation of it
The difference between
original and derived
intentionality
Formal systems and their
digital, token-based nature
The two fundamental roles
of computers in artificial
intelligence
