🎨 Artist's purpose ⚖️ Lawmakers' intent 🧠 Mind's content

intentionalism

1 9.7

The belief that a work's meaning comes from what its creator meant

noun
/ɪnˈtɛnʃənəlɪzəm/

Literature

: intencionalismo

The art critic emphasized the importance of intentionalism in understanding the true meaning of the painter's work.

Examples

Then he launched into a dizzying display of decon-speak, accused me of "presumption" for believing I knew what he had meant by his remarks, and said that I needed to understand the "hermeneutics of intentionalism."

Academic text (1991)
Many scholars argue that intentionalism allows readers to appreciate the deeper significance behind a writer's choices.
In our discussion about literature, we explored intentionalism and how it influences our interpretation of an author's message.

Surface Forms

intentionalism singular

intentionalisms plural

Morphology

intentionalism = intentional (transparent) = intention + al + ism

Formed by adding the productive noun-forming suffix '-ism' to the adjective 'intentional' to denote a doctrine or theory.

Etymology

The word intentionalism comes from the simple word intent meaning 'intention' or 'aim' and the ending -ism meaning 'belief' or 'system'. Think of an artist aiming at a meaning: intentionalism is the idea that the creator's aim or intention is what gives a work its meaning.