Abstract
Several decades ago, Christopher Boorse formulated an influential statistical theory of normative biological functions but it has often been claimed that his theory suffers from insuperable problems such as an inability to handle cases of epidemic and universal diseases. This paper develops a new statistical theory of normative functions that is capable of dealing with the notorious problem of epidemic and universal diseases. The theory is also more detailed than its predecessors and offers other important advantages over them. It is argued here that statistical theories of biological functions should not be so quickly dismissed.
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Notes
Wakefield (1992) argues that the concept of mental disorder in psychiatry involves a harm component along these lines. The same appears to be the case for disease in medicine.
For ease of exposition, I will just say ‘fitness’ from now on to refer to inclusive fitness.
I will shortly define the normal functional range of a trait as consisting of ±2 standard deviations from the mean of its effects in a reference class. Thirty percent is analogous to the very bottom of the normal functional range in a uniform statistical distribution.
It is also possible that the circumstances for performing a function may not arise within certain generations for a species. In that case, their traits would still have normative functions according to SFT so long as it would have been typical for them to perform the function if those circumstances would have arisen. I am thankful to Karen Neander for prompting me to clarify this point.
Standard deviation in statistics is defined as the square root of the variance of a distribution. It shows how much variation there is from the mean value in the distribution.
Source: de Lau and Breteler (2006).
I assume here that the relationship between quantity of snpc dopaminergic neurons and motor function is linear. This may not be entirely accurate.
This paper draws on material from my doctoral dissertation (Kraemer 2012). I am thankful to Karen Neander and Fred Dretske for useful comments and discussion. I am also thankful to Robert Brandon and Alex Rosenberg for raising interesting challenges to the position that I defend here. Finally, I would like to thank the editor of this journal and an anonymous referee for some very helpful suggestions.
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Kraemer, D.M. Statistical theories of functions and the problem of epidemic disease. Biol Philos 28, 423–438 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-013-9365-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-013-9365-3