Functions in Biological and Artificial Worlds

Functions in Biological and Artificial Worlds
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 313
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780262113212
ISBN-13 : 026211321X
Rating : 4/5 (12 Downloads)

Synopsis Functions in Biological and Artificial Worlds by : Ulrich Krohs

Investigations into the relationship between organism and artifacts from the perspective of functionality.

A Critical Overview of Biological Functions

A Critical Overview of Biological Functions
Author :
Publisher : Springer
Total Pages : 119
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783319320205
ISBN-13 : 3319320203
Rating : 4/5 (05 Downloads)

Synopsis A Critical Overview of Biological Functions by : Justin Garson

This book is a critical survey of and guidebook to the literature on biological functions. It ties in with current debates and developments, and at the same time, it looks back on the state of discourse in naturalized teleology prior to the 1970s. It also presents three significant new proposals. First, it describes the generalized selected effects theory, which is one version of the selected effects theory, maintaining that the function of a trait consists in the activity that led to its differential persistence or reproduction in a population, and not merely its differential reproduction. Secondly, it advances “within-discipline pluralism” (as opposed to between-discipline pluralism) a new form of function pluralism, which emphasizes the coexistence of function concepts within diverse biological sub-disciplines. Lastly, it provides a critical assessment of recent alternatives to the selected effects theory of function, namely, the weak etiological theory and the systems-theoretic theory. The book argues that, to the extent that functions purport to offer causal explanations for the existence of a trait, there are no viable alternatives to the selected effects view. The debate about biological functions is still as relevant and important to biology and philosophy as it ever was. Recent controversies surrounding the ENCODE Project Consortium in genetics, the nature of psychiatric classification, and the value of ecological restoration, all point to the continuing relevance to biology of philosophical discussion about the nature of functions. In philosophy, ongoing debates about the nature of biological information, intentionality, health and disease, mechanism, and even biological trait classification, are closely related to debates about biological functions.

What Biological Functions Are and Why They Matter

What Biological Functions Are and Why They Matter
Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Total Pages : 249
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781108694476
ISBN-13 : 1108694470
Rating : 4/5 (76 Downloads)

Synopsis What Biological Functions Are and Why They Matter by : Justin Garson

The biological functions debate is a perennial topic in the philosophy of science. In the first full-length account of the nature and importance of biological functions for many years, Justin Garson presents an innovative new theory, the 'generalized selected effects theory of function', which seamlessly integrates evolutionary and developmental perspectives on biological functions. He develops the implications of the theory for contemporary debates in the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of medicine and psychiatry, the philosophy of biology, and biology itself, addressing issues ranging from the nature of mental representation to our understanding of the function of the human genome. Clear, jargon-free, and engagingly written, with accessible examples and explanatory diagrams to illustrate the discussion, his book will be highly valuable for readers across philosophical and scientific disciplines.

Social Functions in Philosophy

Social Functions in Philosophy
Author :
Publisher : Routledge
Total Pages : 262
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780429787850
ISBN-13 : 0429787855
Rating : 4/5 (50 Downloads)

Synopsis Social Functions in Philosophy by : Rebekka Hufendiek

Social functions and functional explanations play a prominent role not only in our everyday reasoning but also in classical as well as contemporary social theory and empirical social research. This volume explores metaphysical, normative, and methodological perspectives on social functions and functional explanations in the social sciences. It aims to push the philosophical debate on social functions forward along new investigative lines by including up-to-date discussions of the metaphysics of social functions, questions concerning the nature of functional explanations within the social domain, and various applications of functionalist theorising. As such, this is one of the first collections to exclusively address a variety of philosophical questions concerning the nature and relevance of social functions.

Functions: From Organisms to Artefacts

Functions: From Organisms to Artefacts
Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
Total Pages : 378
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783031312717
ISBN-13 : 3031312716
Rating : 4/5 (17 Downloads)

Synopsis Functions: From Organisms to Artefacts by : Jean Gayon

This book, originally published in French, examines the philosophical debates on functions over the last forty years and proposes new ways of analysis. Pervasive throughout the life sciences, the concept of function has the air of an epistemological scandal: ascribing a function to a biological structure or process amounts to suggesting that it is explained by its effects. This book confronts the debates on function with the use of the notion in a wide range of disciplines, such as biology, psychology, and medicine. It also raises the question of whether this notion, which is as old in the history of technology as it is in the life sciences, has the same meaning in these two domains.

Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology

Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology
Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages : 440
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781405159982
ISBN-13 : 1405159987
Rating : 4/5 (82 Downloads)

Synopsis Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology by : Francisco J. Ayala

This collection of specially commissioned essays puts top scholars head to head to debate the central issues in the lively and fast growing field of philosophy of biology Brings together original essays on ten of the most hotly debated questions in philosophy of biology Lively head-to-head debate format sharply defines the issues and paves the way for further discussion Includes coverage of the new and vital area of evolutionary developmental biology, as well as the concept of a unified species, the role of genes in selection, the differences between micro- and macro-evolution, and much more Each section features an introduction to the topic as well as suggestions for further reading Offers an accessible overview of this fast-growing and dynamic field, whilst also capturing the imagination of professional philosophers and biologists

Technical Artefacts: Creations of Mind and Matter

Technical Artefacts: Creations of Mind and Matter
Author :
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages : 210
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9789400739406
ISBN-13 : 9400739400
Rating : 4/5 (06 Downloads)

Synopsis Technical Artefacts: Creations of Mind and Matter by : Peter Kroes

This book presents an attempt to understand the nature of technical artefacts and the way they come into being. Its primary focus is the kind of technical artefacts designed and produced by modern engineering. In spite of their pervasive influence on human thinking and doing, and therefore on the modern human condition, a philosophical analysis of technical artefacts and engineering design is lacking. Among the questions addressed are: How do technical artefacts fit into the furniture of the universe? In what sense are they different from objects from the natural world, or from the social world? What kind of activity is engineering design and what does it mean to say that technical artefacts are the embodiment of a design? Does it make sense to consider technical artefacts to be morally good or bad by themselves because of the way they influence human life? The book advances the thesis that technical artefacts, conceived of as physical constructions with a technical function, have a dual nature; they are hybrid objects combining physical and intentional features. It proposes a theory of technical functions and technical artefact kinds that does justice to this dual nature, analyses engineering design from the dual nature point of view, and argues that technical artefacts, because of their dual nature, have inherent moral significance.

Handbook of Research Methods in Complexity Science

Handbook of Research Methods in Complexity Science
Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages : 642
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781785364426
ISBN-13 : 1785364421
Rating : 4/5 (26 Downloads)

Synopsis Handbook of Research Methods in Complexity Science by : Eve Mitleton-Kelly

This comprehensive Handbook is aimed at both academic researchers and practitioners in the field of complexity science. The book’s 26 chapters, specially written by leading experts, provide in-depth coverage of research methods based on the sciences of complexity. The research methods presented are illustratively applied to practical cases and are readily accessible to researchers and decision makers alike.

Externalism about Knowledge

Externalism about Knowledge
Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Total Pages : 414
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780192636584
ISBN-13 : 0192636588
Rating : 4/5 (84 Downloads)

Synopsis Externalism about Knowledge by : Luis R. G. Oliveira

Externalism about knowledge is thriving in contemporary epistemology. Nonetheless, externalism is too often caricatured as merely reliabilism, too often reduced to simply externalism about justification, and rarely considered as a cohesive family of related but importantly different views. Externalism About Knowledge addresses all of these issues by bringing new essays from leading externalist epistemologists working on seven different branches of this tradition: process reliabilism, tracking views, safety views, virtue epistemology, proper functionalism, naturalized epistemology, and knowledge first epistemology. This collection highlights their unity, their differences, their interconnections, and their most recent challenges, developments, and extensions.

Kant’s Theory of Biology

Kant’s Theory of Biology
Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages : 332
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783110225792
ISBN-13 : 3110225794
Rating : 4/5 (92 Downloads)

Synopsis Kant’s Theory of Biology by : Ina Goy

During the last twenty years, Kant's theory of biology has increasingly attracted the attention of scholars and developed into a field which is growing rapidly in importance within Kant studies. The volume presents fifteen interpretative essays written by experts working in the field, covering topics from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century biological theories, the development of the philosophy of biology in Kant's writings, the theory of organisms in Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment, and current perspectives on the teleology of nature.