Topics Science

Question I was reading a philosophy article, which just talked about "the functions of..." (the subject was law, but that isn't what I'm interested in now). I am not being able to find any introductory philosophy text on "function", not even in Wikipedia (apart from entries on mathematical functions). What is a function?

Accepted:
February 5, 2007

Comments

You can think of a function of X as an effect E that X is designed to produce, or that X is supposed to produce, or that it is the purpose of X to produce.

When is X designed to produce/supposed to produce/has the purpose of producing E?

The most obvious case is where one or more conscious agents have deliberately brought about X because they desired E and believed that X would cause it.

Here is another kind of case. Biological natural selection (or some similar natural process) has led to X because in the past (previous versions of) X caused E, and E is the kind of effect favoured by natural selection. (Polar bears have white fur because in the past that camouflaged them from their prey . . . etc.)

Most philosophers of biology would probably say that in this case too the white fur has the function of camouflaging the bears, even though no conscious agent brought this about. Many would be equally happy to say that the white fur is designed to camouflage the bears/supposed to camouflage the bears/has the purpose of camouflaging the bears.

You can see why such talk comes easily: natural selection works somewhat analogously to a conscious designer, 'picking' items that it 'believes' (ie that in the past have proved) to be an effective means to what it 'desires' (ie to survival and reproduction).

Still, some people object to talk of 'design', 'supposed to', 'purpose', or even 'function' in cases where there is no conscious designer.

I don't think there is any substantial issue here. It is uncontentious that the products of natural selection don't depend on a conscious designer. It is also uncontentious that natural selection gives rise to traits that in the past have been good at producing effects that lead to survival and reproduction. After this, it is merely terminological whether we use the words 'function', 'supposed to', 'purpose', or 'design' to describe those effects.