A Critical Overview of Biological Functions (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy) - Image 1

£49.14

Springer A Critical Overview of Biological Functions (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy)

Name: A Critical Overview of Biological Functions (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy)
Brand: Springer
Price: 49.14 GBP
Availability: InStock

Biological Sciences

Same price for 7 weeks. Today is much like next week.

£49 for 49 days straight · last change was Jan 2026

NEW HERE?

Amazon shows you one price. We show you all of them.

Tosheroon watches Amazon prices so you don't have to. Every product on Amazon has a price history — we make it visible. Set the price you'd actually pay, and we'll email you the second it gets there. No app, no account, one email.

WHAT'S ON THIS PAGE

↓ Price chart
when this has been cheap or pricey

↓ Forecast
where the price is heading next

↓ Statistics
all-time high & low, recent range

↑ Price alert
name your number, we'll email you

Price History & Forecast

Grey patches = out of stock. Cheaper = lower on the chart. Hover for exact prices.

Last 630 days • 630 data points (No recent data available)

Historical

Generating forecast...

Price Distribution

Price distribution over 630 days • 4 price ranges

Days at Price

Current Price

Price Analysis

Most common range: £45-48 (403 days, 64.0%)

Price range: £38 - £55

Price levels: 4 price ranges over 630 days

Description

This book is a critical survey of and guidebook to the literature on biological functions. It ties in with current debates and developments, and at the same time, it looks back on the state of discourse in naturalized teleology prior to the 1970s. It also presents three significant new proposals. First, it describes the generalized selected effects theory, which is one version of the selected effects theory, maintaining that the function of a trait consists in the activity that led to its differential persistence or reproduction in a population, and not merely its differential reproduction. Secondly, it advances “within-discipline pluralism” (as opposed to between-discipline pluralism) a new form of function pluralism, which emphasizes the coexistence of function concepts within diverse biological sub-disciplines. Lastly, it provides a critical assessment of recent alternatives to the selected effects theory of function, namely, the weak etiological theory and the systems-theoretic theory. The book argues that, to the extent that functions purport to offer causal explanations for the existence of a trait, there are no viable alternatives to the selected effects view. The debate about biological functions is still as relevant and important to biology and philosophy as it ever was. Recent controversies surrounding the ENCODE Project Consortium in genetics, the nature of psychiatric classification, and the value of ecological restoration, all point to the continuing relevance to biology of philosophical discussion about the nature of functions. In philosophy, ongoing debates about the nature of biological information, intentionality, health and disease, mechanism, and even biological trait classification, are closely related to debates about biological functions.

Product Specifications

Brand: Springer
Format: paperback
ASIN: 3319320181
Category: Books > Subjects > Science, Nature & Maths > Biological Sciences
Domain: Amazon UK
Release Date: 08 May 2016
Listed Since: 25 February 2016

Barcode

No barcode data available

Springer A Critical Overview of Biological Functions (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy)

Same price for 7 weeks. Today is much like next week.

Price History & Forecast

Price Distribution

Price Analysis

Description

Product Specifications

Barcode

Similar Products You Might Like

Functions: selection and mechanisms: 363 (Synthese Library, 363)

Functions: selection and mechanisms: 363 (Synthese Library, 363)

Is Science Sexist?: And Other Problems in the Biomedical Sciences: 17 (The Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science, 17)

Is Science Sexist?: And Other Problems in the Biomedical Sciences: 17 (The Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science, 17)

Sociobiology and Epistemology: 180 (Synthese Library, 180)

Towards A Semiotic Biology: Life Is The Action Of Signs

The Strategy of Life: Teleology and Mechanics in Nineteenth Century German Biology: 13 (Studies in the History of Modern Science, 13)

The Philosophy of Biology (Oxford Readings in Philosophy)

The Social Meaning of Modern Biology: From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology

The Strategy of Life: Teleology and Mechanics in Nineteenth Century German Biology: 13 (Studies in the History of Modern Science, 13)

Reductive Explanation in the Biological Sciences: 16 (History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 16)

The Mechanics of Life: A Closer Look at the Inner Workings of Nature (Systems Biology-theory, Techniques and Applications)

Debating Biology: Sociological Reflections on Health, Medicine, and Society

Computational Evolution of Neural and Morphological Development: Towards Evolutionary Developmental Artificial Intelligence (Natural Computing Series)

Debating Biology: Sociological Reflections on Health, Medicine and Society

The Palgrave Handbook of Biology and Society

The Palgrave Handbook of Biology and Society

High Content Screening: A Powerful Approach to Systems Cell Biology and Phenotypic Drug Discovery: 1683 (Methods in Molecular Biology, 1683)

The Commercial Use of Biodiversity: Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit-Sharing: 15 (Routledge Library Editions: Ecology)

Foundations of Biophilosophy

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Biology (Oxford Handbooks)

History And Philosophy Of Biology

Biology: A Global Approach, Global Edition

History And Philosophy Of Biology