intenionat

Intenionat is a neologism that appears in a small body of discussions within philosophy of mind and cognitive science to describe the enacted dimension of intentional states. It is used to capture how intentions are formed, retained, and transformed into actionable procedures, stressing the procedural and temporal aspects of goal pursuit rather than mere content of mental representations.

The term is not part of standard terminology in most formal journals, and there is no single agreed definition. In the few places where it appears, intenionat is treated as a way to bridge internal intention with outward behavior by focusing on the continuity of commitment to a goal across planning, selection, and execution.

In philosophy, intenionat is sometimes introduced to distinguish between intentional content, such as beliefs and desires, and the actual deployment of that content in behavior. In cognitive science and artificial intelligence, it has been used to discuss architectures that maintain a persistent intention and generate ongoing plans to realize it, potentially integrating perception, action selection, and learning.

Critics note that the coinage can be redundant with established ideas about intentionality, planning, and motivation, and that without clearer usage, it risks adding ambiguity. Proponents argue that it highlights an active, process-oriented aspect of intention that ordinary terms may obscure.

Because intenionat is not widely adopted, most discussions include explicit definitions and close alignment with related concepts to avoid confusion. It remains a minor, illustrative term rather than a standard analytic category. Related topics include intentionality, the intentional stance, goal-directed behavior, planning, and motivation.