Mind: A Brief Introduction (John R. Searle) / quote 125 of 138
Nothing inherently intensional about intentionality
The important thing to remember about the distinction between intentionality-with-a-t and intensionality-with-an-s is that there is nothing inherently intensional about intentionality. A statement to the effect that Brutus believes that Caesar crossed the Rubicon is indeed an intensional-with-an-s statement. But the belief itself, Brutus’s actual belief, does not thereby become intensional-with-an-s. The belief itself is as extensional as it can get. It will be true only if both Caesar and the Rubicon exist, (existential inference) and anything identical with Caesar crossed anything identical with the Rubicon (substitutability).