What Kind of Intentionality Does Pride Have? : Hume on Passions

Abstract

Many of our mental states are directed toward something or have an “intentionality”. In the Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume describes passions like pride as intentional. My aim is to interpret this intentionality of passions in an appropriate way. Many have interpreted it as an “extrinsic” property of passions, but they cannot explain some distinct characters of intentional passions. Criticizing these interpretations, a new interpretation has appeared, which understands intentionality as an “intrinsic” property of passions. This is a strong interpretation except for dismissing a passionʼs significant role: directing our cognition. Modifying this point, I offer an alternative “intrinsic” interpretation.