intentionalitywhether

Intentionalitywhether is a neologism used in philosophy of mind and cognitive science to denote the meta-question of whether mental states possess intentional content—aboutness—and how that content is determined. The term combines intentionality with a focus on the question “whether,” highlighting the interrogative stance that undergirds debates about the grounds and nature of representational content. It is not a widely standardized technical term, but appears in seminars and essays that aim to frame the problem of content as a question of whether certain conditions must be met for content to exist at all.

In standard discussions, intentionality refers to the aboutness of mental states, such as beliefs about the moon or perceptions of red. The core controversy concerns whether intentionality is intrinsic to mental states (as Brentanian tradition holds) or whether it arises from interactions with the external world, language, or causal relationships (as advocated by various externalist and naturalistic theories). The intentionalitywhether framing invites analysis of the conditions under which content is present: Must content depend on environmental factors, linguistic practices, or social context, or can it be explained purely by internal neurocognitive states?

Key issues include how content is determined, how misrepresentation is accounted for, and whether content is indexical or de re. Proponents of naturalistic and externalist approaches tend to emphasize external factors in answering the “whether” question, while critics defend a more intrinsic, mind-centered account. See also: intentionality, representationalism, externalism, Brentano, philosophy of mind.