Re-organizing organizational accounts of function

Issue title: The Ontology of Functions

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Artiga, Marc

Affiliations: LOGOS – Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain

Abstract: In this paper I discuss a recent theory on functions called Organizational Account. This theory seeks to provide a new definition of function that overcomes the distinction between etiological and dispositional accounts and that could be used in biology as well as in technology. I present a definition of function that I think captures the intuitions of Organizational Accounts and consider several objections.

Keywords: Functions, organizational theory, teleology, normativity, epifenomenalism

DOI: 10.3233/AO-2011-0091

Journal: Applied Ontology, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 105-124, 2011