Mind: A Brief Introduction (John R. Searle) / quote 118 of 138
Conditions of satisfaction
Whenever we have an intentional state that has a non-null direction of fit, the fit will either be achieved or not: the belief will be true, the desire will be fulfilled, the intention will be carried out or not, as the case might be. In such cases, we can say that the belief, desire, or intention is satisfied. What stands to the belief’s being true is what stands to the desire’s being fulfilled, is what stands to the intention’s being carried out. I propose to describe this phenomenon by saying that every intentional state that has a non-null direction of fit has conditions of satisfaction. We can think of mental states as representations of their conditions of satisfaction. Indeed, I will argue later on that the key to understanding intentionality is conditions of satisfaction,