Dual Teleological Perspectives in Qualitative Circulatory Analysis

Abstract

This research uses qualitative and teleology-based techniques to simulate, evaluate and explain models of physiological systems. The Biology Critic, BIOTIC, is based on the qualitative teleological constructs used by physiologists [BURG87,ERA88,GUYT86]. Given a qualitative circulatory model, environmental factors, and a teleology, BIOTIC produces a behavioral trace, an evaluation, and an explanation of how the model’s structure contributes to its function. BIOTIC uses the Bipartite Teleology Model (BTM) to critique circulatory systems from both a static and dynamic viewpoint. These perspectives embody two ways in which physiological systems go about achieving teleologies: via normal activity when in a stable environment, and via regulatory mechanisms when externally perturbed. Modelled after the dual perspectives of teleology evident in both philosophical and physiological interpretations of system behavior, BTM further clarifies the role of functional knowledge in the qualitative analysis of physical systems.