Beth Preston - A Philosophy of Material Culture: Action, Function, and Mind

A Philosophy of Material Culture

This book focuses on material culture as a subject of philosophical inquiry and promotes the philosophical study of material culture by articulating some of the central and difficult issues raised by this topic and providing innovative solutions to them, most notably an account of improvised action and a non-intentionalist account of function in material culture.

Preston argues that material culture essentially involves activities of production and use; she therefore adopts an action-theoretic foundation for a philosophy of material culture. Part 1 illustrates this foundation through a critique, revision, and extension of existing philosophical theories of action. Part 2 investigates a salient feature of material culture itselfits functionality. A basic account of function in material culture is constructed by revising and extending existing theories of biological function to fit the cultural case. Here the adjustments are for the most part necessitated by special features of function in material culture.

These two parts of the project are held together by a trio of overarching themes: the relationship between individual and society, the problem of centralized control, and creativity.

Beth Preston is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Georgia, USA.

Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy

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48 A Philosophy of Material Culture

Action, Function, and Mind

Beth Preston

A Philosophy of Material Culture

Action, Function, and Mind

Beth Preston

First published 2013
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the UK
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2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2013 Taylor & Francis

The right of Beth Preston to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Preston, Beth.

A philosophy of material culture : action, function, and mind / by Beth Preston. 1st ed.

p. cm. (Routledge studies in contemporary philosophy ; v. 48) Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Material culturePhilosophy. I. Title.

GN406.P74 2012

306.46dc23

2012030039