Springerbriefs in Philosophy

Introduction Chapter 1: Function ascription and explanation: elaborating an explanatory utility desideratum for ascriptions of technical functions 1 Introduction2 Functional vs. teleological explanation: why was artifact x produced? 2.1. The ICE theory of technical functions2.2. Heuristics of technical function ascriptions3 Malfunction explanation3.1 malfunction analysis: an engineering example4 Conclusions Chapter 2: Mechanistic Explanation in Engineering Science 1 Introduction2 Mechanistic explanation in engineering science 2.1 Mechanistic explanation and (role) functional individuation2.2 Function and functional decomposition in engineering2.3 Reverse engineering explanation (and redesign)2.4. Malfunction explanation 2.5 Capturing mechanistic explanation in engineering science: pluralism about mechanistic role functions3 Explanation and systems thinking: where engineering and systems biology meet3.1 Engineering and mechanistic explanation in system biology: the e.coli heat shock case4 Explanatory power: Rethinking the explanatory desiderata of 'abstraction' and 'completeness and specificity'4.1. Explaining robustness: complete and specific models4.2 malfunction explanation: local specificity and global abstraction 4.3 malfunction explanation in biology Chapter 3: Dissolving the 'problem of the absent artifact': design representations as means for counterfactual understanding and knowledge generalization Introduction1 The problem of the absent artifact2 Dissolving the problem of the absent artifact3 Roles of design representations3.1 Explanation and counterfactual understanding3.2 Abstraction, idealization, generalization, and unification4 Conclusion Chapter 4: On testing engineering design methods: explanation, reverse engineering, and constitutive relevance 1 Introduction2 Mechanistic explanation: explanation by decomposition2.1. Mechanistic explanation3 Mutual manipulability and the causal-constitutive relevance distinction3.1. Mutual manipulability3.2. Fat-handedness and mutual manipulability combined4. Testing (reverse) engineering design methods: applying mutual manipulability 4.1 Mechanistic reverse engineering explanation4.2 Testing case4.3 The goodness of design representations5 Outlook and conclusions