t cover.234 pp., xiv. NAP. Following the Preface, Contents divided into 7 chapters; (1) "Tracing Links of Causation"; (2) "Approaching the Norms of Nature"; (3) "Discarding Selected Functions"; (4) "Defeating Promiscuity: Hierarchical Systems and Systemic Functions"; (5) "Naturalizing Functions: Evidence, Methodology, and Ontology"; (6) "Guiding Inquiry: The Theoretical Roles of Systemic Functions"; (7) "Defining Functional Types: Success and Malfunctions"; Appreciations and Acknowledgments, pp. 217-218; References, pp. 219-225; Index, pp. 227-234. Black and turquoise dustwrapper not price-clipped (no price) with title and Subtitle lettering in a column at lower left front cover, just above Author name lettering in turquoise over black at bottom left corner; large illustration (detail) of a human iris and small amount of (white) sclera on top half front cover: Long preserved in thick, clear mylar. Black cloth with brilliant silver lettering on spine. But for very small remainder mark on lower edge near spine, FLAWLESS. UNREAD. (NO previous owner names.) Gift-Giving Quality.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Norms of Nature: Naturalism and the Nature of Functions
Publisher: A Bradford Book / The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA and London
Publication Date: 2001
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0262041871
ISBN 13: 9780262041874
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Edition
Printing: 1st Printing
Condition: As New
Dust Jacket Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

The components of living systems strike us as functional-as for the sake of certain ends -- and as endowed with specific norms of performance. The mammalian eye, for example, has the function of perceiving and processing light, and possession of this property tempts us to claim that token eyes are supposed to perceive and process light. That is, we tend to evaluate the performance of token eyes against the norm described in the attributed functional property. Hence the norms of nature.

What, then, are the norms of nature? Whence do they arise? Out of what natural properties or relations are they constituted? In Norms of Nature, Paul Sheldon Davies argues against the prevailing view that natural norms are constituted out of some form of historical success -- usually success in natural selection. He defends the view that functions are nothing more than effects that contribute to the exercise of some more general systemic capacity. Natural functions exist insofar as the components of natural systems contribute to the exercise of systemic capacities. This is so irrespective of the system's history. Even if the mammalian eye had never been selected for, it would have the function of perceiving and processing light, because those are the effects that contribute to the exercise of the visual system. The systemic approach to conceptualizing natural norms, claims Davies, is superior to the historical approach in several important ways. Especially significant is that it helps us understand how the attribution of functions within the life sciences coheres with the methods and ontology of the natural sciences generally.

About the Author

Paul Sheldon Davies is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the College of William and Mary.

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