Franz Brentano

Franz Brentano (January 16, 1838 - March 17, 1917) was an influential figure in both philosophy and psychology. His influence was felt by other figures such as Edmund Husserl and Alexius Meinong who followed and adapted Brentano's views. He is best known for his views on intentionality, a concept from scholastic philosophy which he gave a new lease of life (though in fact he never used the word). Intentionality is 'aboutness', the relationship between, for example, a sentence and the real world. Brentano wrote of the "intentional inexistence" of the objects of thought in the mind, which he maintained could not be accounted for by anything physical; a proof, it seemed, of dualism - the existence of a separate spiritual world.