Grokking the Intentional Stance

📖 Description

Considering how much I've been using "[the intentional stance](https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/intentional-stance)" in my thinking about the nature of agency and goals and discussions of the matter recently, I figured it would be a good idea to, y'know, *actually read* what Dan Dennett originally wrote about it. While doing so, I realized that he was already considering some nuances in the subject that [the Wikipedia summary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_stance) of the intentional stance leaves out but that are nonetheless relevant to the issues we face when attempting to e.g. formalize the approach, or think more clearly about the nature of agency in the context of alignment. I don't expect many LessWrongers will read the original book in full, but I do expect that some additional clarity on what exactly Dennett was claiming about the nature of agency and goals will be helpful in having less confused intuitions and discussions about the subject.

📊 Game Impacts

💭 Reactions

🔗 Sources

• [1] https://www.alignmentforum.org/posts/jHSi6BwDKTLt5dmsG/grokking-the-intentional-stance