Neo-functional analysis: Phylogenetical restrictions on causal role functions
Philosophy of Science 74 (5):601-615 (2007)
| Abstract | The most recent resurgence of philosophical attention to the so-called ‘functional talk' in the sciences can be summarized in terms of the following questions: (Q1) What kind of restrictions, and in particular, what kind of evolutionary restrictions as well as to what extent, is involved in functional ascriptions? (Q2) How can we account for the explanatory import of function-ascribing statements? This paper addresses these questions through a modified version of Cummins' functional analysis. The modification in question is concerned with phylogenetical restrictions on causal role functions, and it stems from an analysis of some primary areas in molecular biology. I examine how evolutionary consideration affects the so-called ‘function-analytical explanatory strategy' (Cummins [1975] 1998, 2002). Finally, I argue that the neo-functional analysis here proposed accounts for a certain convergence between the main rival theories of biological function. ‡I wish to thank David Davies, Eva Jablonka, Thomas Reydon, and Marcel Weber for their helpful comments. †To contact the author, please write to: Department of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, Omladinska 14, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia; e-mail: ira.rechner@gradr.hr. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesJesse Hughes (2009). An Artifact is to Use: An Introduction to Instrumental Functions. Synthese 168 (1):179 - 199.
Adela Helena Roszkowski (2010). Natural Selection and the Unity of Functional Analyses. Philosophy of Science 77 (4):633-645.
Robert C. Cummins (1975). Functional Analysis. Journal of Philosophy 72 (November):741-64.
Douglas E. Ehring (1985). Dispositions and Functions: Cummins on Functional Analysis. Erkenntnis 23 (November):243-249.
Ron McClamrock (1993). Functional Analysis and Etiology. Erkenntnis 38 (2):249-260.
José Iovino (1997). Definability in Functional Analysis. Journal of Symbolic Logic 62 (2):493-505.
Carl F. Craver (2001). Role Functions, Mechanisms, and Hierarchy. Philosophy of Science 68 (1):53-74.
Paul E. Griffiths (1993). Functional Analysis and Proper Functions. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 44 (3):409-422.
Ron Amundson & George V. Lauder (1994). Function Without Purpose. Biology and Philosophy 9 (4):443-469.
Predrag Sustar (2007). Neo‐Functional Analysis: Phylogenetical Restrictions on Causal Role Functions. Philosophy of Science 74 (5):601-615.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads22 ( #56,207 of 549,087 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,317 of 549,087 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
