Intentionality and Language

Abstract

This paper is intended as a critique of Husserl's and Searle's idea that linguistic meaning is a form of derived Intentionality. I propose here three points of argument. First, the intentionality of utterer's meaning intentions is conditioned by descriptive phrases. Secondly, it is erroneous to think that the conditions of satisfaction of a preexistent belief are directly transferred to an utterance. Third, the language-learning such as the new, metaphorical use of words, the invention of neologisms, and the colligation of hitherto unrelated texts constitutes one important aspect of the recontextualization of webs of beliefs.