Garson, Justin (2020) Edmond Goblot’s (1858-1935) Selected Effects Theory of Function: A Reappraisal. In: UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the French philosopher of science Edmond Goblot wrote three prescient papers on function and teleology. He advanced the remarkable thesis that functions are, as a matter of conceptual analysis, selected effects. He also argued that “selection” must be understood broadly to include both evolutionary natural selection and intelligent design. Here, I do three things. First, I give an overview of Goblot’s thought. Second, I identify his core thesis about function. Third, I argue that, despite its ingenuity, Goblot’s expansive construal of “function” cannot be right. Still, Goblot deserves (long-overdue) credit for his work.

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Garson, Justin jgarson@hunter.cuny.edu 0000-0002-0210-2989
Keywords:	Philosophy of biology; Edmond Goblot; biological function; selected effects
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Philosophers of Science
Depositing User:	Dr. Justin Garson
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2020 04:55
Last Modified:	22 Jul 2020 04:55
Item ID:	17601
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Philosophers of Science
Date:	21 July 2020
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17601

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