Function, Selection, and Design

by David J. Buller (Editor)

David J. Buller is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Northern Illinois University.

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 1999

Reviews

[Noah]

A seminal anthology on function and teleology in philosophy of biology. There is quite a bit of overlap between this and Colin Allen, Marc Bekoff, and George Lauder's anthology published a year earlier, Nature's Purposes: Analyses of Function & Design in Biology. The 9/15 essays unique to this volume are the following:

-"Natural Teleology", David J. Buller
-"Proper Functions", Ruth Garrett Millikan
-"An Ambiguity in the Notion 'Function'", Ruth Garrett Millikan
-"The Teleological Notion of 'Function'", Karen Neander
-"Functions: Consensus Without Unity", Peter Godfrey-Smith
-"Malfunctioning", Karen Neander
-"The Misuse of Sober's Selection for/Selection of Distinction", Richard Goode & Paul E. Griffiths
-"A Taxonomy of Functions", Denis Walsh & Marc Bekoff, and
-"Etiological Theories of Function: A Geographical Survey", David J. Buller.

Of these, my personal favorites were, "An Ambiguity in the Notion 'Function'", "The Teleological notion of 'Function'", "Functions: Consensus Without Unity", and "A Taxonomy of Functions". Here are the seven essays which may be found in both anthologies:

-"Functions", Larry Wright
-"Functional Analysis", Cummins
-"Functions", John Bigelow & Robert Pargetter
-"Functional Analysis & Proper Functions", Paul E. Griffiths
-"A Modern History Theory of Functions", Peter Godfrey-Smith
-"Function & Design", Philip Kitcher
-"Biological Function, Adaptation, & Natural Design", Colin Allen & Marc Bekoff

Of these, my personal favorites were, "Functions" (both), "Functional Analysis", "Functional Analysis & Proper Functions", and "A Modern History Theory of Functions".