Second Commentary on "Aristotle's Function Argument"

Abstract

Cells, tissues, organs, and human beings qua biological organisms have natural functions, but human beings qua moral agents do not. Persons-in-society, unlike organs-in-bodies, are the products of culture as well as nature. Bodily diseases, conventionally defined, are undesirable deviations from objectively identifiable biological norms. Mental diseases, similarly defined, are undesirable deviations from culturally identifiable social norms. AIDS and melanoma are literal diseases; attention deficit disorder and homosexuality are metaphorical diseases. Nevertheless, Megone defends the view that bodily and mental diseases are members of the same logical class. I present a brief exposition of the evidence and reasoning that lead me to the opposite conclusion.

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