Measuring Biological Function in Biomechanics: Observations and Consequences

Abstract

Although functional reasoning is ubiquitous in biology, and philosophers have concentrated intensely on theorizing function naturalistically, the measurement of function has largely been ignored. Given its centrality in life science practices, there is good reason to scrutinize functional measurement in detail. I undertake a preliminary analysis of this issue by focusing on the measurement of function in the context of biomechanics to make several observations (e.g., functioning is a complex organismal property that cannot be reduced to a single measured variable) and then draw out novel consequences for debates about biological function and philosophy of science discussions of measurement.