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A modern history theory of functions
Noûs 28 (3):344-362 (1994)
Abstract
Biological functions are dispositions or effects a trait has which explain the recent maintenance of the trait under natural selection. This is the "modern history" approach to functions. The approach is historical because to ascribe a function is to make a claim about the past, but the relevant past is the recent past; modern history rather than ancient.Author's Profile
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