The ontology of artifacts
Abstract
Beginning with Aristotle, philosophers have taken artifacts to be ontologically deficient. This paper proposes a theory of artifacts, according to which artifacts are ontologically on a par with other material objects. I formulate a nonreductive theory that regards artifacts as constituted by—but not identical to—aggregates of particles. After setting out the theory, I rebut a number of arguments that disparage the ontological status of artifacts.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Design explanation is applicable to algorithms because algorithms are goal-directed, human artifacts produced in a specific sociotechnical context.
“Design explanation is applicable to algorithms as the latter are goal-directed, human artifacts produced in a specific sociotechnical context (Baker 2004).”
From Transparency as design publicity: explaining and justifying inscrutable algorithms (2021) · cites this paper as Baker 2004
Cites
Sameness and Substance Renewed
(2001) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511612756 · Cited by 985 · see citing works
Baker, L. R. (2000) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139173124 · Cited by 776 · see citing works
Self-citationThomasson, A. L. (1998) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511527463 · Cited by 701 · see citing works
Thomasson, A. L. (2003) · Philosophy and Phenomenological Research · doi:10.1111/j.1933-1592.2003.tb00309.x · Cited by 331 · see citing works
Persons and Bodies: The Metaphysical Background
Baker, L. R. (2000) · Cited by 321 · see citing works
Self-citationSubstance: Its Nature and Existence.
Zimmerman, D. W., Hoffman, J., & Rosenkrantz, G. S. (1999) · The Philosophical Review · doi:10.2307/2998272 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Hilpinen, R. (1993) · Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (Hardback) · doi:10.1093/aristotelian/93.1.155 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Artifacts, art works, and agency
(1993) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.31-1457 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Ascribing Functions to Technical Artefacts: A Challenge to Etiological Accounts of Functions
Vermaas, P. E., & Houkes, W. (2003) · The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science · doi:10.1093/bjps/54.2.261 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Hoffman, J., & Rosenkrantz, G. S. (1996) · Taylor & Francis eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203296707 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Essentialism and Semantic Theory in Aristotle: Posterior Analytics, II, 7-10
Bolton, R. (1976) · The Philosophical Review · doi:10.2307/2184277 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
LaPorte, J. (2000) · Philosophical Studies · doi:10.1023/a:1018360026223 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Baker, L. R. (2002) · Philosophical Topics · doi:10.5840/philtopics200230112 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Self-citationLowe, E. J. (1994) · Philosophy and Phenomenological Research · doi:10.2307/2108580 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
French, P. A., & Wettstein, H. K. (1999) · Blackwell eBooks · Cited by 30 · see citing works
A different kind of natural kind
Elder, C. L. (1995) · Australasian Journal of Philosophy · doi:10.1080/00048409512346871 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference
Barnes-Svarney, P. (1995) · Virtual Defense Library (Ministerio de Defensa) · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Pereboom, D. (2002) · Philosophy and Phenomenological Research · doi:10.1111/j.1933-1592.2002.tb00165.x · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Transparency as design publicity: explaining and justifying inscrutable algorithms
Loi, M., Ferrario, A., & Viganò, E. (2021) · Ethics and Information Technology · doi:10.1007/s10676-020-09564-w · Cited by 79 · see citing works
- Authors
- Baker, L. R.
- Corresponding author
- Baker, Lynne Rudder
- Venue
- Philosophical Explorations
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2004-06
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 99-111
- ISSN
- 1386-9795 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-5918
- OpenAlex
- W2050589219
- Cited by
- 166
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 0.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Philosophical Explorations (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Realism in Sociology
- Keywords
- artifacts, material constitution, particles, Aristotle, material objects
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
