The goal of this essay is to assess the Selected-Effects Etiological Theory of biological function, according to which a trait has a function F if and only if it has been selected for F. First, I argue that this approach should be understood as describing the paradigm case of functions, rather than as establishing necessary and sufficient conditions for function possession. I contend that, interpreted in this way, the selected-effects approach can explain two central properties of functions and can satisfactorily address some recent counterexamples. This reading, however, shows that there is only a partial overlap between biological functions and selected effects, so the former cannot be reduced to the latter. Finally, I maintain that this result is still compatible with a naturalistic theory of function that appeals to some evolutionary process.

本文的目的是评估生物功能的选择效应病因学理论，根据该理论，性状具有且仅当已为F选择时具有F的功能。首先，我认为应将此方法理解为描述功能的范式案例，而不是为功能拥有建立必要和充分的条件。我认为，以这种方式解释，选择效果方法可以解释函数的两个主要属性，并且可以令人满意地解决一些最近的反例。但是，该读数表明，生物学功能和所选作用之间仅存在部分重叠，因此前者不能简化为后者。最后，我坚持认为，这一结果仍然与吸引某些进化过程的功能性自然主义理论相吻合。