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    Cummins's systemic account defines function purely relati... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Systemic concepts of function do permit attributions of malfunction.

    Cummins's systemic account defines function purely relationally—as causal contribution to system capacity—leaving no resources to distinguish malfunction from alternative contribution.

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    Key Terms

    Alternative contribution(what Cummins's theory cannot distinguish from malfunction)
    A different way that something affects or impacts a system, other than its intended or normal function.
    Causal contribution(as used in ethics and metaphysics)
    When someone plays a direct role in causing something to happen—they're part of the chain of events that led to the outcome.
    Cummins(as the originator of the systems-theoretic account being discussed)
    Robert Cummins is a philosopher who developed a specific theory about what it means to say something has a function or purpose.
    Function (in philosophy)(as used in philosophy of mind and metaphysics)
    The purpose or job something is designed to do—for example, the function of a hammer is to drive nails.
    Relational (or relationally)

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    (how Cummins's account defines function)
    Defined only in terms of how something connects to or relates to other things, rather than having a fixed independent meaning.
    System capacity(what the function contributes to)
    What a larger whole (a system) is able to do or accomplish as a result of all its parts working together.
    Systemic account(describing Cummins's approach to understanding function)
    A way of explaining something by looking at how it works as part of a larger whole, rather than in isolation.
    malfunction(philosophy of artifacts and functions)
    Failure of an artifact to perform its proper function — failure to do what the artifact is supposed to do

    Connections

    2 topics

    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedCausation1 linked

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    Systemic concepts of function do permit attributions of malfunction.

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