intension

/in'tenʃn/

Thân thiện

Definition

Noun: 1. The internal content of a concept: In logic and philosophy, "intension" refers to the set of all the essential properties or attributes that define a concept or the meaning of a term. It is what you understand or what you must know to correctly identify the concept's referents. 2. The meaning of a word or expression as distinct from its extension: It contrasts with "extension," which is the set of all actual things to which the term applies. Intension is the inherent sense or connotation.

Usage

"Intension" is a technical term primarily used in philosophy, logic, semantics, and linguistics. It is used to discuss the conceptual meaning of words, as opposed to the collection of objects they denote.

Examples

• The intension of the word "bachelor" includes the attributes [unmarried, adult, male]. Its extension is the set of all unmarried adult men in the world.
• Philosophers analyze the intension of a term to understand its precise meaning, separate from the objects it happens to refer to.
• While "morning star" and "evening star" have the same extension (the planet Venus), they have different intensions because they are defined by different properties (appearing in the morning sky vs. appearing in the evening sky).

Advanced Usage

• Intensional Context: A statement or context where substituting terms with the same extension (referent) does not necessarily preserve truth. For example, "Lois Lane believes Superman can fly" is an intensional context because substituting "Superman" with "Clark Kent" (the same person/extension) could change the truth of the statement about Lois Lane's beliefs.
• Intensional Logic: A system of formal logic that deals with the meanings (intensions) of expressions, often incorporating concepts like belief, necessity, and possibility.

Variants and Related Words

• Intensional (adjective): Pertaining to intension or intensionality.
  • The sentence creates an intensional context where co-referential terms cannot be swapped.
• Intensionality (noun): The quality of being intensional.
• Intensionally (adverb): In an intensional manner.

Synonyms

• Connotation
• Sense (as in "the sense of a word")
• Conceptual meaning
• Inherent meaning

Antonyms

• Extension
• Denotation
• Reference

Related Concepts

• Extension: The set of all objects or individuals to which a word or concept applies. (Contrast with intension).
• Comprehension: A similar term sometimes used synonymously with "intension" to mean the sum of characteristics defining a concept.

Học thuật

Noun

1. what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression

Từ đồng nghĩa

• connotation