Abstract

LAWLER, Diego  and  VEGA ENCABO, Jesús. Multiple realizability and artefact kinds. Rev. iberoam. cienc. tecnol. soc. [online]. 2011, vol.7, n.19, pp.167-178. ISSN 1850-0013.

The principle of multiple realizability is a good guide to our understanding of the artificial world. Whoever takes this principle as a guide faces the challenge of finding the appropriate level of functional description in order to shed light on the ontology of the artificial; at the same time, it faces the challenge of explaining how two types of realizations perform the same function, and how these realizations are ontologically different in a relevant sense. In this paper we examine the position of those who promote that artefacts can be grouped into nominal kinds, as well as the position of those who promote that they can be collected under real kinds. Finally, we suggest that it could be possible to preserve the principle of multiple realizability in a context where taxonomies depend on the descriptions of artefacts promoted by our practices, on the one hand, and on our learning about how there are exemplars of artefacts that realize functions differently, on the other hand.

Keywords : Multiple realizability; Kinds; Artefacts.

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