Mind: A Brief Introduction (John R. Searle) / quote 113 of 138
Intentionality rather than information
Readers familiar with cognitive science will recognize that when we talk about intentionality we are discussing what in cognitive science is known as “information.” I prefer “intentionality” because “information” is systematically ambiguous between a genuinely observer-independent mental sense (for example, by looking out the window now I have information about the weather) and a nonmental observer-relative sense (for example, the rings in the tree stump contain information about the age of the tree). This ambiguity can also arise for “intentionality,” but it is easier to avoid and confusion is less likely.