What Biological Functions Are and Why They Matter

This accessible book presents a new theory of biological functions and connects it to contemporary problems in philosophy and science.

Justin Garson (Author)

9781108460026, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 March 2021

247 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.373 kg

'[In] What Biological Functions Are and Why They Matter, Justin Garson formulates the major philosophical issues that a relevant theory of function should solve as three main puzzles, namely (1) the function/accident distinction, (2) dysfunction, and (3) the etiological explanatory value of function.' Etienne Roux, Metascience

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.

Introduction
Part I. Background: 1. The strangeness of functions
2. Function and selection
3. Feedback and functions
Part II. Theory: 4. An explosion of selection processes
5. Selection and construction
6. A generalized selected effects theory of function
7. Proper functions are proximal functions
8. When functions do wrong
Part III. Applications: 9. Function pluralism
10. What are mechanisms?
11. What are mental disorders?
12. A new kind of teleosemantics
A programmatic epilogue.

Subject Areas: Biology, life sciences [PS], Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology [HPJ], Philosophy [HP], Humanities [H]