Intentionality as a Distinctive Feature of Mental Phenomena Philosophic theories of mental images and perception are closely linked to the more general theory of intentionality. Broadly speaking, intentionality refers to the ability of human thought to be directed toward objects. This circumstance has been variously described and interpreted, using a variety of technical terms that indicate the existence of distinctively mental items. Many philosophers have concluded that the existence of intentional objects is what defines the realm of the mental and what differentiates the mind from other entities.
Human minds enable symbols to carry meaning, or have content .
By 'intentionality' we mean the ability of the human mind to refer to objects outside of itself. The theory of intentionality, however, itself has several difficulties . Moreover, introducing the notion of intentionality does not settle many of the important issues related to mental images. For some standard reflections on this, see the section on thought imagery .