University of Texas at El Paso, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Texas, El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
Hist Philos Life Sci. 2010;32(2-3):233-46.
Is there any genuine difference between organisms and artifacts? Where and how would we identify such a difference? This paper argues the difference involves the character of their individuality. Unlike an organism, an artifact's individuality is (for the most part) determined by the function that the designer selected in the artifact's production rather than the functional interdependence of its parts. In both cases, individuality is a historical property and in both cases the parts may be functionally interdependent to some extent. However, for artifacts, this interdependence is not what makes it the individual that it is. Instead, the interdependence of its parts is in the service of the functions for which the spear was designed. No such additional purpose or function exists for an organism.
生物体和人工制品之间是否存在真正的区别？我们在哪里以及如何识别这种区别？本文认为，这种区别涉及到它们个体性的特征。与生物体不同，人工制品的个体性（在大多数情况下）是由设计者在制品生产中选择的功能决定的，而不是由其部件的功能相互依存决定的。在这两种情况下，个体性都是历史属性，而且在这两种情况下，部件在某种程度上可能是功能相互依存的。然而，对于人工制品来说，这种相互依存并不是使它成为个体的原因。相反，其部件的相互依存是为了满足设计长矛的功能。生物体不存在这样的额外目的或功能。
