PhilSci Archive

Why (a Form of) Function Indeterminacy is Still a Problem for Biomedicine, and How Seeing Functional Items as Components of Mechanisms Can Solve it

Garson, Justin (2014) Why (a Form of) Function Indeterminacy is Still a Problem for Biomedicine, and How Seeing Functional Items as Components of Mechanisms Can Solve it. In: UNSPECIFIED.

[img]
Preview
PDF
Why_(a_Form_of)_Function_Indeterminacy_is_Still_a_Problem_for_Biomedicine.pdf

Download (196kB)

Abstract

During the 1990s, many philosophers wrestled with the problem of function indeterminacy. Although interest in the problem has waned, I argue that solving the problem is of value for biomedical research and practice. This is because a solution to the problem is required in order to specify rigorously the conditions under which a given item is “dysfunctional.” In the following I revisit a solution developed originally by Neander (1995), which uses functional analysis to solve the problem. I situate her solution in the framework of mechanistic explanation and suggest two improvements.


Export/Citation: EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
Social Networking:
Share |

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Garson, Justinjgarson@hunter.cuny.edu
Keywords: Biological function; function indeterminacy; mechanistic explanation; philosophy of biology; philosophy of medicine
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
Depositing User: Dr. Justin Garson
Date Deposited: 24 Jul 2014 14:46
Last Modified: 24 Jul 2014 14:46
Item ID: 10899
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology
Date: 23 July 2014
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10899

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item