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Full Idea
Statements that are apparently about the persistence of artifacts make covert reference to the dispositions of intelligent beings to maintain certain arrangements of matter.
Gist of Idea
The persistence of artifacts always covertly involves intelligent beings
Source
Peter van Inwagen (Material Beings [1990], 13)
Book Ref
Inwagen,Peter van: 'Material Beings' [Cornell 1995], p.134
A Reaction
If you build a self-sustaining windmill that pumps water, that seems to have an identity of its own, apart from the intentions of whoever makes it and repairs it. The function of an artefact is not just the function we want it to have.