Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Selected effects and causal role functions in the brain: the case for an etiological approach to neuroscience

  • Published:
Biology & Philosophy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite the voluminous literature on biological functions produced over the last 40 years, few philosophers have studied the concept of function as it is used in neuroscience. Recently, Craver (forthcoming; also see Craver 2001) defended the causal role theory against the selected effects theory as the most appropriate theory of function for neuroscience. The following argues that though neuroscientists do study causal role functions, the scope of that theory is not as universal as claimed. Despite the strong prima facie superiority of the causal role theory, the selected effects theory (when properly developed) can handle many cases from neuroscience with equal facility. It argues this by presenting a new theory of function that generalizes the notion of a ‘selection process’ to include processes such as neural selection, antibody selection, and some forms of learning—that is, to include structures that have been differentially retained as well as those that have been differentially reproduced. This view, called the generalized selected effects theory of function, will be defended from criticism and distinguished from similar views in the literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The difference between selectionist and non-selectionist accounts of synaptic structure formation will be described in the following section.

  2. Not all biologists, nor philosophers of biology, would accept neural selection as a type of ‘natural selection.’ This is because, in their view, reproduction is a sine qua non of natural selection (e.g., Okasha 2003; see Bouchard 2008 for an opposing view and Godfrey-Smith 2007 for an overview of definitions of ‘natural selection’ and a description of the role of ‘reproduction’).

  3. Mace 1949 (1935) was one of the first to point out a conceptual link between operant conditioning and teleology, followed by Scheffler 1958.

  4. This is not the primary route through which Millikan attributes functions to novel traits. Rather, she relies on a distinction between ‘direct’ and ‘derived’ proper functions to make sense of the functions of novel traits (e.g., Millikan 1984, 41–42; 1989, 288). Although this is a reasonable distinction in some contexts, it has the unattractive conclusion that one must seek out a ‘direct function’ for many of the novel traits that one would like to ascribe functions to, even if it is not obvious what that direct function is. For example, brain changes underlying reading ability or the ability to play Tetris may have derived proper functions, but it is not clear from which direct proper functions those functions are derived.

  5. This ambiguity is reflected in the disparate ways he formulates the definition of ‘function.’ In his earlier presentation, the function of an entity is explicitly defined in terms of a ‘selection process’ (1987, 65). In his later presentation, the function of an entity is explicitly defined in terms of any self-perpetuating process: “X has the function of doing Y if and only if item X is now present as a result of causing Y” (1993, 45). In this latter view, being selected for is merely a ‘paradigm’ for the theory and not part of the definition.

  6. Godfrey-Smith (1992), like Papineau, explicitly includes both the products of natural selection as well as learning in an early account of biological function: “a selective basis for functional characterization is available whenever learned characters are maintained within the cognitive system because of their consequences” (ibid., 292). However, the problem with this view is that it does not specify that these learned characters must be the result of selection and not merely a generic, self-perpetuating process. Godfrey-Smith (1993, 199) rejects his earlier account of function and insists, along with Millikan, that in order for something to possess a function it must undergo reproduction, thus severing the link between evolution and learning. However, he may have avoided this admittedly unattractive conclusion (ibid.) if he had restricted functions to the parts of biological systems that undergo selection but which do not necessarily reproduce.

  7. Brandon (forthcoming) draws a similar conclusion by pointing to the valuable co-existence of historical and ahistorical concepts in many scientific disciplines.

References

  • Allen C, Bekoff M (1995) Biological function, adaptation, and natural design. Philos Sci 62:609–622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amundson R, Lauder GV (1994) Function without purpose: the uses of causal role function in evolutionary biology. Biol Philos 9:443–469

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antonini A, Stryker MP (1993) Rapid remodeling of axonal arbors in the visual cortex. Science 260:1819–1821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bedau M (1992) Where’s the good in teleology? Philos Phenomenol Res 52:781–805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bigelow J, Pargetter R (1987) Functions. J Philos 84:181–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair RJ (2003) Neurological basis of psychopathy. Br J Psychiatry 182:5–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boorse C (1976) Wright on functions. Philos Rev 85:70–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouchard F (2008) Causal processes, fitness, and the differential persistence of lineages. Philos Sci 75:560–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouchard F (forthcoming) How ecosystem evolution strengthens the case for functional pluralism. In: Huneman P (ed) Functions: selection and mechanisms. Synthese Library, Boston, pp 56–71

  • Brandon RN (1990) Adaptation and environment. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandon RN (forthcoming) A general case for functional pluralism. In: Huneman P (ed) Functions: selection and mechanisms. Synthese Library, Boston, pp 72–78

  • Brown MC, Jansen JKS, Van Essen D (1976) Polyneural innervation of skeletal muscle in new-born rats and its elimination during maturation. J Physiol 261:387–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnet FM (1959) The clonal selection theory of acquired immunity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Changeux J-P, Danchin A (1976) Selective stabilization of developing synapses as a mechanism for the specification of neuronal networks. Nat 264:705–711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craver C (2001) Role functions, mechanisms, and hierarchy. Philos Sci 68:53–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craver C (forthcoming) Functions and mechanisms: a perspectivalist view. In: Huneman P (ed) Functions: selection and mechanisms. Synthese Library, Boston, pp 199–220

  • Crick F (1989) Neural Edelmanism. Trends Neurosci 12:240–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cziko G (1995) Without miracles: universal selection theory and the second Darwinian revolution. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Darden L, Cain JA (1989) Selection type theories. Philos Sci 56:106–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies PS (2001) Norms of nature: naturalism and the nature of functions. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Deacon TW (1989) The neural circuitry underlying primate calls and human language. Hum Evol 4:367–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edelman G (1978) Group selection and phasic reentrant signaling: a theory of higher brain function. In: Edelman GE, Mountcastle VB (eds) The Mindful brain: cortical organization and the group-selective theory of higher brain function. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 51–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Edelman G (1987) Neural Darwinism: the theory of neuronal group selection. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Garson J (2008) Function and teleology. In: Sarkar S, Plutynski A (eds) A companion to the philosophy of biology. Blackwell, Malden, MA, pp 525–549

    Google Scholar 

  • Garson J (2010) Schizophrenia and the dysfunctional brain. J Cog Sci 11:215–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey-Smith P (1992) Indication and adaptation. Synthese 92:283–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey-Smith P (1993) Functions: consensus without unity. Pac Philos Q 74:196–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey-Smith P (1994) A modern history theory of functions. Noûs 28:344–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey-Smith P (2007) Conditions for evolution by natural selection. J Philos 104:489–516

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould SJ, Lewontin RC (1979) The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationist programme. Proc R Soc B 205(1161):581–598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths PE (1993) Functional analysis and proper function. Br J Philos Sci 44:409–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths PE (2006) Function, homology, and character individuation. Philos Sci 73:1–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haier RJ, Karama S, Leyba L, Jung RE (2009) MRI assessment of cortical thickness and functional activity changes in adolescent girls following three months of practice on a visual-spatial task. BMC Res Notes 2:174–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardcastle VG (1999) Understanding functions: a pragmatic approach. In: Hardcastle VG (ed) Where biology meets psychology: philosophical essays. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 27–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Hull DL, Langman RE, Glenn SS (2001) A general account of selection: biology, immunology and behavior. Behav Brain Sci 24:511–527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingsbury J (2008) Learning and selection. Biol Philos 23:493–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitcher P (1993) Function and design. Midwest Stud Philos 18:379–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewens T (2007) Functions. In: Matthen M, Stevens C, Gabbay DM, Thagard P, Woods J (eds) Philosophy of biology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 525–547

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mace CA (1949 [1935]) Mechanical and teleological causation. In: Feigl H, Sellars W (eds) Readings in philosophical analysis. Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc, New York, pp 534–539

  • MacLaurin J, Sterelny K (2008) What is biodiversity? University of Chicago Press, Chicago

  • Mathews TJ, Ventura SJ (1997) Birth and fertility rates by educational attainment: United States, 1994. Mon Vital Statistics Rep 45(10):1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Matteo M, Saborido C, Moreno A (2009) An organizational account of biological functions. British J Philos Sci 60:813–841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell JJ (2009) Behavioral and neural Darwinism: selectionist function and mechanism in adaptive behavior dynamics. Behav Process. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2009.11.011

  • McLaughlin P (2001) What functions explain: Functional explanation and self-reproducing systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Millikan RG (1984) Language, thought, and other biological categories. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Millikan RG (1989) In defense of proper functions. Philos Sci 56:288–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell SD (1995) Function, fitness, and disposition. Biol Philos 10:39–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neander K (1983) Abnormal psychobiology. Dissertation, La Trobe

  • Neander K (1991) Functions as selected effects: the conceptual analyst’s defense. Philos Sci 58:168–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okasha S (2003) Does the concept of “clade selection” make sense? Philos Sci 70:739–751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papineau D (1987) Reality and representation. Blackwell, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Papineau D (1993) Philosophical naturalism. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen SE, Fox PT, Snyder AZ, Raichle ME (1990) Activation of extrastriate and frontal cortical areas by visual words and word-like stimuli. Sci 249:1041–1044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettmann C, Henderson CE (1998) Neuronal cell death. Neuron 20:647–653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prior EW (1985) What is wrong with etiological accounts of biological function? Pac Philos Q 66:310–328

    Google Scholar 

  • Purves D (1994) Neural activity and the growth of the brain. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Purves D, Lichtman JW (1980) Elimination of synapses in the developing nervous system. Sci 210:153–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quartz SR, Sejnowski TJ (1997) The neural basis of cognitive development: a constructivist manifesto. Behav Brain Sci 20:537–596

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajewsky K (1996) Clonal selection and learning in the antibody system. Nat 381:751–758

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robins SK, Craver CF (2009) Biological clocks: explaining with models of mechanisms. In: Bickle J (ed) The oxford handbook of philosophy and neuroscience. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 41–67

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ruse ME (1971) Functional statements in biology. Philos Sci 38:87–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar S (2005) Molecular models of life: Philosophical papers on molecular biology. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffner K (1993) Discovery and explanation in biology and medicine. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheffler I (1958) Thoughts on teleology. Br J Philos Sci 9:265–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlaggar BL, McCandliss BD (2007) Development of neural systems for reading. Ann Rev Neurosci 30:475–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz W (1998) Predictive reward signal of dopamine neurons. J Neurophysiol 80:1–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz W, Dickenson A (2000) Neuronal coding of prediction errors. Ann Rev Neurosci 23:473–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz PH (1999) Proper function and recent selection. Philos Sci 66:S210–S222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sober E (1984) The nature of selection. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh DM (1996) Fitness and function. British J Philos Sci 47:553–574

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh DM, Ariew A (1996) A taxonomy of functions. Can J Philos 26:493–514

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiesel TN, Hubel DH (1963) Single-cell responses in striate cortex of kittens deprived of vision in one eye. J Neurophysiol 26:1003–1017

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimsatt WC (1972) Teleology and the logical structure of function statements. Stud Hist Philos Sci 3:1–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong ROL, Lichtman JW (2002) Synapse elimination. In: Squire LR, Bloom FE, McConnell SK, Roberts JL, Spitzer NC, Zigmond MJ (eds) Fundamental neuroscience, 2nd edn. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 533–554

    Google Scholar 

  • Wouters A (2003) Four notions of biological function. Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci 34:633–668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright L (1973) Functions. Philos Rev 82:139–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to express his gratitude to Carl Craver, Gualtiero Piccinini, Anya Plutynski, and the University of Utah philosophy of biology lab group for comments and criticism on an earlier draft.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Hunter College of the City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Justin Garson

Authors
  1. Justin Garson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Justin Garson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Garson, J. Selected effects and causal role functions in the brain: the case for an etiological approach to neuroscience. Biol Philos 26, 547–565 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-011-9262-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-011-9262-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation