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 volume 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 contributors 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.
Series Foreword vii
Preface ix
I#INTRODUCTION#1
1#Philosophical Perspectives on Organismic and Artifactual Functions 3
II#BRIDGING FUNCTIONS OF ORGANISMS AND ARTIFACTS#13
2#Changing the Mission of Theories of Teleology: DOs and DON'Ts for Thinking About Function 17
3#Biological and Cultural Proper Functions in Comparative Perspective 37
4#How Biological, Cultural, and Intended Functions Combine 51
5#On Unification: Taking Technical Functions as Objective (and Biological Functions as Subjective) 69
III#FUNCTIONS AND NORMATIVITY#89
6#Functions and Norms 93
7#The Inherent Normativity of Functions in Biology and Technology 103
8#Conceptual Conservatism: The Case of Normative Functions 127
9#Ecological Restoration: From Functional Descriptions to Normative Prescriptions 147
IV#FUNCTIONS AND CLASSIFICATION#163
10#Being For: A Philosophical Hypothesis About the Structure of Functional Knowledge 167
11#Realism and Artifact Kinds 185
12#A Device-Oriented Definition of Functions of Artifacts and Its Perspectives 203
V#EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVES#223
13#The Open Border: Two Cases of Concept Transfer from Organisms to Artifacts 227
14#Innovation and Population 243
15#The Cost of Modularity 259
16#Technical Artifacts, Engineering Practice, and Emergence 277
Contributors 293
Index 295
Ulrich Krohs teaches philosophy at the University of Hamburg and is a member at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research in Altenberg, Austria.
Peter Kroes is Professor in the Philosophy of Technology, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
This is a gem of a book. Focusing on the concepts of function in biology and technology, these rich articles open up many questions for further pursuit. The importance of 'Functions in Biological and Artificial Worlds' extends beyond philosophy of biology and philosophy of technology into issues of general philosophical interest--for example, emergence, real kinds, function, and normativity. 'Functions in Biological and Artificial Worlds' bristles with insights and provocative ideas. Highly recommended.
- Lynne Rudder Baker, University of Massachusetts Amherst
"The roles of design and normativity continue to be a hotly debated topic in that part of the philosophy of biology concerned with function. This volume differs from most in being the outcome of a workshop in which early versions were discussed by the other authors. The result has the welcome feel of philosophical discussion rather than of the major players once again defining their territory."
- Robert Cummins, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign