A Working Draft Design Argument

[Acrobat]

P1- Intentionality gives things value and meaning. Novels possess intrinsic values and meaning, as a result of being authored, designed, endowed by their authors to posses such elements.

Just to be clear down the road, maybe we should define "intentionality." 

In phenomenology, it has a specific meaning, but I think that's not what you're using here. Would you mind paraphrasing? Does it mean "made with a goal in mind"? 

Here is the meaning in Merleau-Ponty, et.al.:

"In phenomenology, the characteristic of consciousness whereby it is conscious OF something -- i.e. its directness toward an object."

I think that definition is perfectly fine, but for those who might not think of values and meanings in terms of a goal, this general definition is fine as well:

the fact of being deliberate or purposive.
PHILOSOPHY
the quality of mental states (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, desires, hopes) that consists in their being directed toward some object or state of affairs.

I’m using determinism to negate the often repeated idea that we ultimately give things value and meaning.