more from this thinker     |     more from this text

Single Idea 6379

[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 3. Natural Function ]

Full Idea

A preserved heart in a jar of formaldehyde has the teleological function of circulating blood.

Gist of Idea

A mummified heart has the teleological function of circulating blood

Source

Thomas W. Polger (Natural Minds [2004], §5.4)

Book Ref

Polger,Thomas W.: 'Natural Minds' [MIT 2004], p.174

A Reaction

A nice illustration.

The 8 ideas with the same theme [what components of nature are meant to do]:

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]