Ideas from 'True Believers' by Daniel C. Dennett [1981], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Mind and Cognition (2nd Edn)' (ed/tr Lycan,William) [Blackwell 1999,0-631-20545-4]].

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18. Thought / C. Content / 1. Content
States have content if we can predict them well by assuming intentionality
                        Full Idea: Dennett maintains that a system has states with representational content if we are able to predict its behaviour reliably and voluminously by adopting the intentional stance toward it.
                        From: report of Daniel C. Dennett (True Believers [1981]) by Peter Schulte - Mental Content 5
                        A reaction: Dennett himself seems happy to thereby attribute representational content to a chess-playing computer. This sounds like a test for content, rather than explaining what it is. Not promising, I think.