The Metaphysics of Mind and the Multiple Sources of Multiple Realizability

Abstract

Different structures can have the same function. The wings and feet of insects, birds and bats have different structural properties, yet they perform the same functions. Many important concepts and explanations in the special sciences depend on the idea that the same function can be performed by different structures. For instance, in biology, although both homologous and analogous structures of a given type have the same function, only homologous structures of that type have a common evolutionary history. These observations undergird the concepts of homologous and analogous structures and the distinction between them: we cannot make sense of this important biological distinction in any other way. Similar considerations seem to be true of psychology. Different structures might well have the same psychological function, particularly across species. The eye of an octopus might be quite different from the eye of a human being, although both have the same function. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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