New perspectives on artifactual and biological functions

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Artiga, Marc

Affiliations: Universitat de Barcelona & LOGOS, Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: marc.artiga@gmail.com

Note: [] Accepted by: Pawel Garbacz

Abstract: In this essay I introduce the question of artifactual functions in the context of the recent debate on the notion of function. I discuss some of the desiderata a satisfactory account should fulfill and compare them to the desiderata for a theory of biological functions. Finally, within this general framework, I briefly present the three papers included in this volume.

Keywords: Function, normativity, teleology, epiphenomenalism, artifacts, etiological theory, dispositional theory

DOI: 10.3233/AO-160166

Journal: Applied Ontology, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 89-102, 2016