Abstract:
The two dominant accounts of function are
motivated by different approaches to the naturalistic treatment of teleology
and normativity. Though many commentators have urged a reconciliation of these
two accounts via either pluralism or integration, this is not possible without
resolving the underlying conflict about naturalism. This conflict results from
poorly-articulated assumptions about the relationship between natural and
artifactual functions; attention to some details of biological fact and the
theoretical resources offered by recent innovations in evolutionary biology
show a way to resolve the conflict and give an integrated account of function
that solves several outstanding problems in the treatment of teleology and
normativity.