intensionalist

Intensionalism is a philosophical stance, primarily within the philosophy of language and metaphysics, that emphasizes the importance of intensions in understanding meaning and reference. An intension, in this context, refers to the concept or mode of presentation associated with a term or proposition, as opposed to its extension, which is the set of objects or truth value that the term or proposition refers to. Intensionalists argue that the meaning of a linguistic expression is not fully captured by what it refers to in the world.

For example, the terms "morning star" and "evening star" have the same extension (the planet Venus) but are often considered to have different intensions, reflecting different ways of conceptualizing the same object. Intensionalism often plays a role in discussions about propositional attitudes, such as belief and knowledge. It suggests that two individuals can have the same belief about an object even if they have different concepts or ways of thinking about that object. This approach contrasts with extensionalism, which typically holds that meaning is determined solely by what a term or proposition refers to. Philosophers like Gottlob Frege and Rudolf Carnap are associated with developing and defending intensionalist views.