Husserl on Intentionality:

The essence of consciousness is intentionality The task of phenomenology is to isolate

intentional structures of consciousness without their contingencies and in all their purity.

Consciousness is a unity or an outward moving vector consisting of three moments: a

subject pole, an object pole and the movement between the two poles.

1.Intentionality is derived from the Latin verb intendo to point (at), aim (at), extend
(toward), aboutness.

2.Husserl is influenced by Franz Brentano in his account of intentionality. However,

there are major differences between their versions of intentionality. Husserl provides a
non-psychologisitic and active characterization of intentionality (unlike Brentano). But,
they do share much in terms of their philosophical projects despite their differences.

3.Husserls notion of intentional perception differs considerably from the empiricist

approach to the same, which can be seen in theories such as that of Locke. The basic
problem with empiricists in Husserls view is that
(a)they treat consciousness as a passive receptacle or a box.
(b)they confuse two senses of the term idea: subjective presentation of a thing and a
presented object.
In the words of David Bell then Husserl raises two major objections to empiricism:
(i)Descriptive Objection
(ii)Analytic Objection

Husserls intentional perception is an active process involving two stages: the vehicle
stage of the founding act and the semantic/meaning giving stage of the founded act.
Perception is a process where consciousness actively confers meaning/form onto material
sense data or hyle. For instance one hears a song rather than mere sounds. Intentionality
consists in a noema-noesis relation.

4.Intentionality can be classified in terms of four functions:

a.It objectivates
b.It unifies
c.It relates. Here the notion of fulfillment of the promise contained in the intentional act
is important. This requires taking into account the background or the horizon against
which the act occurs. As Husserl notes, the object is is always something more than we
actually perceive of it Expectations play a role in intentionality attempt to relate.
d.It constitutes.
Books:
(1)Spiegelbergs chapter on Husserl contains a lucid version of intentionality.
(2)Peter Koestenbaums Introduction to Husserls Paris Lectures
(3)David Bells Book also contains a good discussion of intentionality.
(4)Sections of Husserls Paris Lectures.
(5)Intentionality Article in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Ed. Paul Edwards)