Intentionality, Naturalistic And Pragmatic Perspective

The first part of this article includes a conceptual history of intentionality, the horizon of this issue, and the significance of the study of it. And this constructs the background of Daniel Dennett's theory of the Intentional Stance. The second part explains how the intentional stance theory works in details. The third part analyses the relation between the concept of intentionality and representation, thereby achieves a deeper understanding of the very issue. A possible refutation of Dennett's view on intentionality will also be introduced here. The fourth part is devoted to an interpretation of Dennett's theory by appealing to some principles from Pragmatism. Thereby, we are expected to have some more specific understanding of the relationship between Pragmatism and contemporary philosophy of mind. Furthermore, I will discuss the legitimacy of Dennett's theory in the context of pragmatism. At the end of this part, I will quote and analyze the neo-pragmatist Richard Rorty's criticism of Dennett. The fifth part will defend and refute the theory of Dennett from my own point of view respectively to a certain degree.