Carolyn Price
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199242009
- eISBN:
- 9780191696992
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242009.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science
This chapter proposes some additional constraints on function ascription in order to address the shortcomings of the core account of the theory of functions in underwriting the ascription of ...
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This chapter proposes some additional constraints on function ascription in order to address the shortcomings of the core account of the theory of functions in underwriting the ascription of determinate functions to biological devices. It explains that rival function ascriptions can be divided into four separate groups. The first includes ascriptions concerning things an item has to do before it can perform its function, the second consists of ascriptions that concern activities by means of which the device performs its function, the third is concerned with consequences that a device helps to bring about by performing its function, and the last characterizes the function of a device in a particular fine-grained way.Less
This chapter proposes some additional constraints on function ascription in order to address the shortcomings of the core account of the theory of functions in underwriting the ascription of determinate functions to biological devices. It explains that rival function ascriptions can be divided into four separate groups. The first includes ascriptions concerning things an item has to do before it can perform its function, the second consists of ascriptions that concern activities by means of which the device performs its function, the third is concerned with consequences that a device helps to bring about by performing its function, and the last characterizes the function of a device in a particular fine-grained way.
Ulrich Krohs and Peter Kroes (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262113212
- eISBN:
- 9780262255271
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262113212.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biomathematics / Statistics and Data Analysis / Complexity Studies
The notion of function is an integral part of thinking in both biology and technology; biological organisms and technical artifacts are both ascribed functionality. Yet the concept of function is ...
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The notion of function is an integral part of thinking in both biology and technology; biological organisms and technical artifacts are both ascribed functionality. Yet the concept of function is notoriously obscure (with problematic issues regarding the normative and the descriptive nature of functions, for example) and demands philosophical clarification. So too the relationship between biological organisms and technical artifacts: although entities of one kind are often described in terms of the other—as in the machine analogy for biological organism or the evolutionary account of technological development—the parallels between the two break down at certain points. This book takes on both issues and examines the relationship between organisms and artifacts from the perspective of functionality. Believing that the concept of function is the root of an accurate understanding of biological organisms, technical artifacts, and the relation between the two, the chapters take an integrative approach, offering philosophical analyses that embrace both biological and technical fields of function ascription. They aim at a better understanding not only of the concept of function but also of the similarities and differences between organisms and artifacts as they relate to functionality. Their ontological, epistemological, and phenomenological comparisons will clarify problems that are central to the philosophies of both biology and technology.Less
The notion of function is an integral part of thinking in both biology and technology; biological organisms and technical artifacts are both ascribed functionality. Yet the concept of function is notoriously obscure (with problematic issues regarding the normative and the descriptive nature of functions, for example) and demands philosophical clarification. So too the relationship between biological organisms and technical artifacts: although entities of one kind are often described in terms of the other—as in the machine analogy for biological organism or the evolutionary account of technological development—the parallels between the two break down at certain points. This book takes on both issues and examines the relationship between organisms and artifacts from the perspective of functionality. Believing that the concept of function is the root of an accurate understanding of biological organisms, technical artifacts, and the relation between the two, the chapters take an integrative approach, offering philosophical analyses that embrace both biological and technical fields of function ascription. They aim at a better understanding not only of the concept of function but also of the similarities and differences between organisms and artifacts as they relate to functionality. Their ontological, epistemological, and phenomenological comparisons will clarify problems that are central to the philosophies of both biology and technology.
Mikkel Gerken
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198803454
- eISBN:
- 9780191841637
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198803454.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Chapter 1 outlines the core assumptions of the epistemological framework to be defended. For example, a variety of a relevant-alternatives framework that appeals to normal circumstances is adopted, ...
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Chapter 1 outlines the core assumptions of the epistemological framework to be defended. For example, a variety of a relevant-alternatives framework that appeals to normal circumstances is adopted, as is a competence epistemology according to which S may obtain knowledge and warranted belief only by exercising a cognitive competence. Moving from the epistemological framework to our folk epistemology, the ways in which the term ‘knowledge’ is central to our folk epistemology are considered. Special emphasis is given to knowledge ascriptions’ social and communicative functions. Thus, Chapter 1 introduces some core assumptions of a fairly traditional epistemology.Less
Chapter 1 outlines the core assumptions of the epistemological framework to be defended. For example, a variety of a relevant-alternatives framework that appeals to normal circumstances is adopted, as is a competence epistemology according to which S may obtain knowledge and warranted belief only by exercising a cognitive competence. Moving from the epistemological framework to our folk epistemology, the ways in which the term ‘knowledge’ is central to our folk epistemology are considered. Special emphasis is given to knowledge ascriptions’ social and communicative functions. Thus, Chapter 1 introduces some core assumptions of a fairly traditional epistemology.
