In defense of proper functions

Philosophy of Science 56 (June):288-302 (1989)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

I defend the historical definition of "function" originally given in my Language, Thought and Other Biological Categories (1984a). The definition was not offered in the spirit of conceptual analysis but is more akin to a theoretical definition of "function". A major theme is that nonhistorical analyses of "function" fail to deal adequately with items that are not capable of performing their functions

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 91,610

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
810 (#18,672)

6 months
72 (#67,136)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Ruth Millikan
University of Connecticut

References found in this work

The meaning of 'meaning'.Hilary Putnam - 1975 - Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science 7:131-193.
Individualism and the mental.Tyler Burge - 1979 - Midwest Studies in Philosophy 4 (1):73-122.
Functional analysis.Robert E. Cummins - 1975 - Journal of Philosophy 72 (November):741-64.

View all 19 references / Add more references