Abstract

The paper outlines the itinerary that led Wittgenstein from the grammatical formulation of intentionality indicated in the Big Typescript and the "Umarbeitungen" of this work to the later normative-pragmatic conception put forward in the Investigations. In opposition to the Brentanian thesis of mental in-existence of intentions, two arguments will be highlighted: (i) the antireferentialist argument of the "intransitive" status of intentional propositions; (ii) the antimentalist argument that the meaning of intentional acts must not be sought in inner hidden processes, but is given by institutionalised forms of behaviour, linguistic customs, and public techniques underlying their use.