| Series | History, philosophy and theory of the life sciences ; volume 32
History, philosophy and theory of the life sciences ; v. 32. ^A1295212 |
| Contents |
Intro -- Functions: From Organisms to Artefacts -- Copyright -- Introduction to the New English Edition -- References -- Introduction to the Original French Edition -- References -- Contents -- Part I: Origins of Functional Discourse in the Life Sciences -- Chapter 1: Biological Function: A Phylogeny of the Concept -- 1.1 The Importance of a Concept's History -- 1.2 The "Historical" Objection to Millikan "Proper Functions" -- 1.3 A Branch of a Complex, Branching Phylogeny -- 1.4 Aristotelian Proper Functions -- 1.5 Galenic Proper Functions -- 1.6 Harverian Proper Functions |
| Contents |
1.7 Aristotelians, Darwinians, and Proper Functions -- 1.8 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 2: The Structure-Function Relationship in the Advent of Biology -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Functions and Physiological Properties -- 2.3 Functions and Correlations Between Elementary Vital Properties -- 2.4 Functions and Cell Theory -- 2.5 Functions, Instrumental Forms, and Vital Processes -- 2.6 Functions and Complex Chains of Mechanisms -- 2.7 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 3: Tissues, Properties, and Functions: The Term Function in French Biology in the Early Nineteenth Century |
| Contents |
3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Bichat's Legacy -- 3.2.1 A Vitalistic and Agonistic Definition of Life -- 3.2.2 A System of Vital Properties -- 3.2.2.1 The System of Vital Properties and the Division of Life into Organic and Animal Functions -- 3.2.2.2 The Articulation Between Properties and Tissues -- 3.3 The Polemical Use of the Concept of Function in the Attacks Against Bichat's Theory -- 3.3.1 Magendie: An Internal Critique of Bichat's Vital Properties -- 3.3.1.1 Bichat's Notion of Function -- 3.3.1.2 Magendie's Criticism: Animal Sensibility and Animal Contractility as "True Functions" |
| Contents |
3.3.2 Auguste Comte's Criticism -- 3.3.2.1 The Large and Abstract Definition of Function -- 3.3.2.2 The Narrow Definition of Function and the Scientific Aim of Biology -- 3.3.2.3 Cuvier's Shadow? -- 3.3.2.4 The Harmonization of Physiological and Anatomical Hierarchies -- 3.4 Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 4: "Design," History of the Word and the Concept: Natural Sciences, History, Theology, and Aesthetics -- 4.1 The Word -- 4.2 The Concept -- 4.3 Paley: The Argument from Design -- 4.4 Hume: The Analogy of Nature Criticized -- 4.5 Kant: A Necessary Analogy, but Without Foundations |
| Contents |
4.6 Decline and Revival of Design -- 4.7 Dawkins -- 4.8 Design and Function Today -- 4.9 Conclusions -- References -- Chapter 5: Function and Purpose: Review of the "Written Symposium" (1976-1984) Organized by the Institut de la Méthode of the Ferdinand Gonseth Association -- 5.1 Formula and Style of the "Written Symposium" -- 5.2 Context of the Symposium and Circumstances of Its Triggering Off -- 5.3 Influence of Monod on the Two Opposed Fronts in the Written Symposium and on Its Interspersing Colloquium |
| Abstract |
This book, originally published in French, examines the philosophical debates on functions over the last forty years and proposes new ways of analysis. Pervasive throughout the life sciences, the concept of function has the air of an epistemological scandal: ascribing a function to a biological structure or process amounts to suggesting that it is explained by its effects. This book confronts the debates on function with the use of the notion in a wide range of disciplines, such as biology, psychology, and medicine. It also raises the question of whether this notion, which is as old in the history of technology as it is in the life sciences, has the same meaning in these two domains. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references. |
| Language | Translated from French. |
| Source of description | Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed August 1, 2023). |
| Issued in other form | Print version: 3031312708 9783031312700 |
| Issued in other form | Print version: Gayon, Jean Functions: from Organisms to Artefacts Cham : Springer International Publishing AG,c2023 9783031312700 |
| ISBN | 9783031312717 (electronic bk.) |
| ISBN | 3031312716 (electronic bk.) |
| Standard identifier# |
10.1007/978-3-031-31271-7 |
