Table Of ContentWHAT BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS ARE
AND WHY THEY MATTER
Thebiologicalfunctionsdebateisaperennialtopicinthephilosophy
of science. In the first full-length account of the nature and import-
anceofbiologicalfunctionsformanyyears,JustinGarsonpresentsan
innovative new theory, the “generalized selected effects theory of
function,”whichseamlesslyintegratesevolutionaryanddevelopmen-
talperspectivesonbiologicalfunctions.Hedevelopstheimplications
of the theory for contemporary debates in the philosophy of mind,
the philosophy of medicine and psychiatry, the philosophy of biol-
ogy, 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
accessibleexamplesandexplanatorydiagramstoillustratethediscus-
sion,hisbookwillbehighlyvaluableforreadersacrossphilosophical
and scientificdisciplines.
is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Hunter
College of the City University of New York. He is the author of
The Biological Mind: A Philosophical Introduction () and
ACritical Overview ofBiologicalFunctions ().
WHAT BIOLOGICAL
FUNCTIONS ARE AND
WHY THEY MATTER
JUSTIN GARSON
HunterCollege,CityUniversityofNewYork
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Contents
List of Figures page x
Acknowledgments xii
Introduction
The Strangeness of Functions
. FunctionsandExplanations
. BackwardsCausation
. TheismandFictionalism
. BeingThere
. RulesoftheGame
Function and Selection
. TheTraditionalSelectedEffectsTheory
. Mutation,Drift,Design
. CriticismsoftheTraditionalSelectedEffectsTheory
Feedback and Functions
. Forward-LookingFunctions
. InvokingtheWrongHistory
. OrganizationalFunctions
. WeakEtiologicalFunctions
An Explosion of Selection Processes
. TheBreadthofSelection
. FunctionsandAntibodySelection
. IsLearningaSelectionProcess?
vii
viii Contents
Selection and Construction
. HowtoBuildaBrain
. SelectionandConstruction
. WaroftheSynapses
. TheFunctionofSelection
. HowtheBrainMakesFunctions
A Generalized Selected Effects Theory of Function
. TheTheory
. SixProblemsforGSE
. FunctionsandPopulations
. AHarderLiberalityProblem
Proper Functions Are Proximal Functions
. WhatFunctionIndeterminacyIsandWhyItMatters
. DistalandProximalFunctions
. AnObjectiontoProximalFunctions
. FunctionsandFunctionalAnalysis
. FunctionsandMechanisticExplanation
When Functions Go Wrong
. ConstitutionandCircumstance
. NormalEnvironmentandSelectiveEnvironment
. CantheBiostatisticalTheoryExplainDysfunction?
Function Pluralism
. SelectedEffectsandCausalRoles
. SE-DisciplinesandCR-Disciplines?
What Are Mechanisms?
. TheFunctionalSenseofMechanism
. TwoSensesof“Mechanism”
. ConvergenceandDivergence
. HowMechanismsBreak
. HowtoExplainDisease
. IsNaturalSelectionaMechanism?
What Are Mental Disorders?
. MentalDisordersandBiologicalDysfunctions
. MismatchorDysfunction?
. DevelopmentalMismatches
. GeneralizedSelectionProcessesandMentalDisorders
. ObjectionsandReplies
