Theoretical And Practical Value Of Intentionality Research In Contemporary Western Psycholog

Human beings are characterized by the dual processing of linguistic symbols and intentionality representations,and intentionality is an important mechanism for the operation of the human mind.This mechanism is characterized by the development of mental activity through a close focus on the ’object-result’,which is centred on the ability to point to,about or represent things.The emergence of intentional mental activity mechanisms was a key step in the evolution of the human species.It is on the basis of this capacity that a link is formed between the subjective mental activity of human beings and the external world,allowing for the rapid input reception and processing of all kinds of information and the completion of many life adaptation problems.It is also intentionality that gives humans the ability to relate the present to the past or the future.As Nietzsche said: Human is the only animal capable of making commitments.Commitment is linked to our ability to place ourselves in the future,and this ability is intentionality.As an ancient and often new philosophical proposition,the discussion of intentionality in Western philosophy has roughly gone through three phases: the first phase is from the ancient Greek period to the Middle Ages.The research in this stage is mainly based on theoretical speculation.The main representatives are Plato,Aristotle,and the scholastic philosopher Thomas Aquinas,among others.The second phase,from the Middle Ages to the mid-19 th century,saw the theoretical exploration of intentionality hit a low point.It was not until the publication of Brentano’s book 《 Psychologie vom empirischen Standpunkt 》 that intentionality re-entered the research horizon of philosophy and psychology.Subsequently,the phenomenologists represented by Husserl and Merleau-Ponty and the existentialist philosopher Sartre were famous for their research,and the current philosophers of mind,with Searle and Dennett as their leading figures,have launched another in-depth exploration of intentionality.In the field of psychology,after the behaviorist era from Watson to Carnap to Skinner,the fields of cognitive psychology,developmental psychology and social psychology also set off a tendency to study intentionality.The current discussion of intentionality in Western psychology has shown a two-way interaction with theories of intentionality in the field of philosophy.On the one hand,philosophical discussions on intentionality have,to a certain extent,provided research clues for the development of psychology,and have contributed to the development of contemporary cognitive science,artificial intelligence and social psychology.On the other hand,the gradual increase in the heat of research on intentionality in psychology has,in turn,helped to promote the solution of intentionality problems.Psychology and cognitive science have focused on elucidating the relationship between intentionality and other mental activities from a scientific perspective,and have attempted to explore the neurophysiological mechanisms involved,while also paying attention to the relationship between intentionality and mental health.In recent years,with the advancement of empirical research methods in psychology,the revival of phenomenological philosophy and the development of neuroscience techniques,the study of intentionality is moving from phenomenological and analytical to scientific and empirical research.Philosophers and psychologists at home and abroad have made a lot of achievements in the cultivation of the problem of intentionality and developed a large number of intentionality theories.Influenced by the Gestalt School and phenomenological philosophy,Merleau-Ponty and others have put forward concepts such as motor intentionality and bodily intentionality,emphasizing the holistic characteristics of human intentionality.Currently,the phenomenological approach to intentionality and the naturalistic approach are gradually showing a tendency to merge with each other in the field of empirical research in psychology.It is noteworthy that Chinese scholars have also made some improvements in the study of intentionality.Traditional Chinese culture is rich in ideas related to intentionality,and Pan Shu,a famous psychologist of the older generation in China,once conducted unique research on the problem of "intention".A number of Chinese researchers in phenomenology and philosophy of mind have produced many papers and books.The flourishing research on intentionality also faces a number of challenges and difficulties.In the future,we need to build a solid foundation for interdisciplinary integration of intentionality research,activate theoretical and empirical innovations in the field of intentionality,and promote a new level and vision of intentionality research.