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Full Idea
The word 'knife' names an object in respect of its function. That is not to say (simply) that it names an object which has a function, but also that the function is involved in the meaning of the word.
Gist of Idea
Some words, such as 'knife', have a meaning which involves its function
Source
Philippa Foot (Goodness and Choice [1961], p.134)
Book Ref
Foot,Philippa: 'Virtues and Vices' [Blackwell 1981], p.134
A Reaction
It seems faintly possible that someone (a child, perhaps) could know the word and recognise the object, but not know what the object is for. Ditto with other things which have functional names.
| 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] |