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Full Idea
In the traditional terminology, function follows essence. Essence just is the principle from which flows the characteristic behaviour of a thing.
Gist of Idea
Essence is the source of a thing's characteristic behaviour
Source
David S. Oderberg (Real Essentialism [2007], 2.1)
Book Ref
Oderberg,David S.: 'Real Essentialism' [Routledge 2009], p.23
A Reaction
Hence essence must be identified if the behaviour is to be explained, and a successful identification of essence is the terminus of our explanations. But the essences must go down to the micro-level. Explain non-characteristic behaviour?
| 5873 | Each thing's function is its end [Aristotle] |
| 5108 | Is ceasing-to-be unnatural if it happens by force, and natural otherwise? [Aristotle] |
| 22380 | Some words, such as 'knife', have a meaning which involves its function [Foot] |
| 10431 | Things are thought to have a function, even when they can't perform them [Sainsbury] |
| 12245 | Essence is the source of a thing's characteristic behaviour [Oderberg] |
| 6379 | A mummified heart has the teleological function of circulating blood [Polger] |
| 6377 | Teleological notions of function say what a thing is supposed to do [Polger] |
| 14387 | Rather than dispositions, functions may be the element that brought a thing into existence [Leuridan] |