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

Garson, Justin

doi:10.1007/s10539-011-9262-6

Cited by 62 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…What do we mean by function, informational or otherwise? Most philosophers of biology, and likely, most practicing biologists when pressed, would endorse some form of the selected effect (SE) definition of function (28)(29)(30). Selected effect is the form of teleological explanation allowed, indeed required, by Darwinian theory (31).…”

Section: Problematics Of Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is junk DNA bunk? A critique of ENCODE

Doolittle

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

355

283

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Do data from the Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project render the notion of junk DNA obsolete? Here, I review older arguments for junk grounded in the C-value paradox and propose a thought experiment to challenge ENCODE's ontology. Specifically, what would we expect for the number of functional elements (as ENCODE defines them) in genomes much larger than our own genome? If the number were to stay more or less constant, it would seem sensible to consider the rest of the DNA of larger genomes to be junk or, at least, assign it a different sort of role (structural rather than informational). If, however, the number of functional elements were to rise significantly with C-value then, (i) organisms with genomes larger than our genome are more complex phenotypically than we are, (ii) ENCODE's definition of functional element identifies many sites that would not be considered functional or phenotype-determining by standard uses in biology, or (iii) the same phenotypic functions are often determined in a more diffuse fashion in larger-genomed organisms. Good cases can be made for propositions ii and iii. A larger theoretical framework, embracing informational and structural roles for DNA, neutral as well as adaptive causes of complexity, and selection as a multilevel phenomenon, is needed.evolution | human genome

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Section: Problematics Of Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is junk DNA bunk? A critique of ENCODE

Doolittle

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

355

283

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“…Not only would we expand the range of functions in the natural world, but we would also expand the range of "simple ideas" that a human being could possess. For example, there is some evidence that the ability to recognize written words of the English language is a result of neural selection (Garson 2011). If that is correct, then teleosemantics could explain how humans can entertain thoughts like, that is a written word of the English language.…”

Section: Implications For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I wish to push this line of reasoning even further, in ways that previous SE theorists have not explored. I call this the "generalized selected effects" theory of function (GSE) (see Garson 2011;2015;. In my view, in order to acquire a new function, a trait need not even have helped its bearer reproduce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Generalized Selected Effects Theory of Function

Garson¹

2017

Philos. of Sci.

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I present and defend the generalized selected effects theory (GSE) of function.According to GSE, the function of a trait consists in the activity that contributed to its bearer's differential reproduction, or differential retention, within a population. Unlike the traditional selected effects (SE) theory, it does not require that the functional trait helped its bearer reproduce; differential retention is enough. Although the core theory has been presented previously, I go significantly beyond those presentations by providing a new argument for GSE and defending it from a recent objection. I also sketch its implications for teleosemantics and philosophy of medicine.

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“…Roughly, according to Boorse's theory, the physiological function of a trait consists in its 1 In responding to Kingma, we are skirting a substantive and ongoing debate about whether 'function' should be given a unique explication or multiple ones. We are pretty pluralistic about 'function' (see Garson [2011], [2012] for an alternate approach to function). We formulate here a biostatistical theory of function to show that such a view can explicate the notion that functions must be performed at appropriate rates in appropriate situations.…”

Section: Functions Are Situation-specificmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functions Must Be Performed at Appropriate Rates in Appropriate Situations

Garson¹,

Piccinini²

2014

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science

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We sketch a novel and improved version of Boorse's biostatistical theory of functions. Roughly, our theory maintains that (i) functions are non-negligible contributions to survival or inclusive fitness (when a trait contributes to survival or inclusive fitness); (ii) situations appropriate for the performance of a function are typical situations in which a trait contributes to survival or inclusive fitness; (iii) appropriate rates of functioning are rates that make adequate contributions to survival or inclusive fitness (in situations appropriate for the performance of that function); and (iv) dysfunction is the inability to perform a function at an appropriate rate in appropriate situations. Based on our theory, we sketch solutions to three problems that have afflicted Boorse's theory of function, namely, Kingma's ([2010]) problem of the situation-specificity of functions, the problem of multi-functional traits, and the problem of how to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate rates of functioning.

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

Cited by 62 publications

References 59 publications

Is junk DNA bunk? A critique of ENCODE

Is junk DNA bunk? A critique of ENCODE

A Generalized Selected Effects Theory of Function

Functions Must Be Performed at Appropriate Rates in Appropriate Situations

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