Philosophy of Biological Functions

The function of eyespots on butterfly wings is to deflect attack away from vital organs. The cell membrane’s function is to regulate the materials that pass in and out of the cell. However, biologists sometimes disagree about functions, such as the function of the giraffe’s long neck or the zebra’s stripes.

This outstanding volume, written by an international roster of expert contributors, examines the question of biological functions from a philosophical standpoint. It introduces readers to newer theories of function, as well as novel formulations of traditional views; critically examines the contours of function talk in specific biological specializations such as genomics, ecology, psychiatry, biomedicine, and synthetic life; and provides an overview of the way philosophers use function concepts outside of philosophy of biology, such as conceptual engineering, mental representation, ethics, and epistemology.

Philosophy of Biological Functions will be of particular interest to students and researchers in philosophy of science, especially philosophy of biology, and those interested in conceptual questions in the biological sciences and philosophy of psychology.

Zdenka Brzović is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, and in the Division of Cognitive Sciences at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, Croatia. Her interests lie at the intersection of science and philosophy, focusing on philosophical questions related to biology, medicine, and the life sciences more broadly. She has recently co-authored and authored several articles on scientific classifications in the life sciences and the notion of function in biology, and specifically in genome biology.

Justin Garson is Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA. He has authored several books and articles on the nature of biological functions, including A Critical Overview of Biological Functions (2016), What Biological Functions Are and Why They Matter (2019) and, with Harriet Fagerberg, Biological Functions (forthcoming). He also writes on philosophy of psychiatry and mental health.

Predrag Šustar is Professor in Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. His research primarily focuses on topics in philosophy of science, relating to biology and the life sciences, more generally. He has recently co-authored and authored several articles in the biological functions debate, including a co-edited volume with John McMillan and Luca Malatesti, Psychopathy: Its Uses, Validity and Status (2022). He also writes on history and philosophy of science, with particular emphasis on Kant.