Intention and Assent

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JOURNAL OF METAPSYCHOLOGY

431 Burgess Drive, Menlo Park, California 94025

Article 23
December 1, 1988
Revised September 26, 1990

Intention and Assent

A person's world is composed of three types of entities (things that exist):

Phenomena
Ideas
Facts

Phenomena and ideas are known directly and are not open to doubt: we see what we see, hear what we hear, and have the ideas that we have. The acceptance of an idea as a fact, however, requires a decision. Anyone can get the idea that "Brazil has double-digit inflation" and have no doubt about having that idea, without being sure that Brazil does, in fact, have double-digit inflation. But, given an idea, a further action is required to arrive at a fact, and that is an act of assent. It is when we say "Yes!" to an idea that we acquire a fact. So "Brazil has double-digit inflation" is only an idea, but when I agree with that idea, give my assent to it, it becomes a fact, for me. And so it is with all of the facts I have -- originally they were ideas, and then, by being assented to, agreed with, they graduated to the status of being facts, for me. The process one goes through prior to giving one's assent is called "considering" -- one weighs the pros and cons of accepting an idea and then finally decides or determines that it is factual. The nature of the act of considering is an important topic, but one we will leave for another time, in order to focus on the nature of assent.

What is the nature of this interesting act of assenting or agreeing? It is an act of intending, an intention to accept and have an idea as a fact in one's world. In fact, every act of intention is also an act of assent -- assent to what is intended. In other words, assent and intention are the same thing. The word "assent" emphasizes the "saying yes" aspect of intention, whereas the word "intention" emphasizes the "acting" aspect of intention, so it is still useful to preserve the two terms.

In any case, intention or assent determines a fact:

Definition: Determining is the act of combining an idea or concept with an act of intention or assent to produce a fact.

Like any act, assent or intention can occur in a creative (outflowing) or receptive (inflowing) mode. One can intend to create a certain condition in the world, or one can intend to receive a certain condition from the world. In both cases, what was a mere idea is converted into a fact. In both cases, a reality is determined. The difference between creation and reception lies in the source of the idea. If the idea is created by the person (conceived), then assented to, the result is the appearance of a new condition in that person's world. If the idea is arrived at as a result of interpreting data originating in the world, then assented to, the result is the appearance of new understanding or knowledge in the person. The first action is called "postulating"; the second is called "understanding":

Definition: Postulating is the combined actions of conceiving and assenting, leading to the creation of a fact. A creative determination.

Definition: Understanding is the combination of interpretation and assent that results in the reception of a new fact. A receptive determination.

Note that both postulating and understanding are causative: one can receive just as causatively as one can create; one can pull as causatively as one can push.

Frank A. Gerbode, M.D.
Director, IRM

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