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Technical Functions

On the Use and Design of Artefacts

  • Book
  • © 2010

Overview

Authors:
  1. Wybo Houkes

    1. Eindhoven, Netherlands

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  2. P.E. Vermaas

    1. Dept. Philosophy, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • First book-length study of technical artefacts and their functions
  • State-of-the-art resources in analytical philosophy, such as the planning theory of action and analyses of testimony
  • Provides a framework for describing and evaluating artefact use and design
  • First and only theory of artefact functions that is faithful to the phenomenology of artefact use
  • Positioning of the functions of artefacts against those of biological items
  • Typical example of the new school of philosophy of technology that studies engineering and technology on its own merits

Part of the book series: Philosophy of Engineering and Technology (POET, volume 1)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
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  2. Introduction

    • Wybo Houkes, Pieter E. Vermaas
    Pages 1-13

  3. Using, designing and plans

    • Wybo Houkes, Pieter E. Vermaas
    Pages 15-44

  4. Function theories

    • Wybo Houkes, Pieter E. Vermaas
    Pages 45-76

  5. The ICE-function theory

    • Wybo Houkes, Pieter E. Vermaas
    Pages 77-100

  6. Malfunctioning

    • Wybo Houkes, Pieter E. Vermaas
    Pages 101-116

  7. Engineering, science and biology

    • Wybo Houkes, Pieter E. Vermaas
    Pages 117-136

  8. The nature of artefacts

    • Wybo Houkes, Pieter E. Vermaas
    Pages 137-160

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 161-175
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Keywords

About this book

This book is about the functions of technical artefacts, material objects made to serve practical purposes; objects ranging from tablets of Aspirin to Concorde, from wooden clogs to nuclear submarines. More precisely, the book is about usinganddesigningartefacts, aboutwhatitmeanstoascribefunctionstothem, and about the relations between using, designing and ascribing functions. In the following pages, we present a detailed account that shows how strong these relations are. Technical functions cannot be properly analysed without taking into regard the beliefs and actions of human beings, we contend. This account stays deceptively close to common sense. After all, who would deny that artefacts are for whatever purpose they are designed or used? As we shall show, however, such intentionalist accounts face staunch opposition from other accounts, such as those that focus on long-term reproduction of artefacts. These accounts are partly right and mostly wrong — and although we do take a common-sense position in the end, it is only after sophisticated analysis. F- thermore, the results of this analysis reveal that technical functions depend on a larger and more structured set of beliefs and actions than is typically s- posed. Much work in the succeeding pages goes into developing an appropriate action-theoretical account, and forging a connection with function ascriptions.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Eindhoven, Netherlands

    Wybo Houkes

  • Dept. Philosophy, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands

    P.E. Vermaas

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Technical Functions

  • Book Subtitle: On the Use and Design of Artefacts

  • Authors: Wybo Houkes, P.E. Vermaas

  • Series Title: Philosophy of Engineering and Technology

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3900-2

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Engineering, Engineering (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-90-481-3899-9Published: 14 April 2010

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-94-007-3197-4Published: 28 May 2012

  • eBook ISBN: 978-90-481-3900-2Published: 19 March 2010

  • Series ISSN: 1879-7202

  • Series E-ISSN: 1879-7210

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VIII, 174

  • Topics: Engineering Design, Philosophy of Technology

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