Peter Godfrey-Smith (1994), 'A Modern History Theory of Functions', Noûs, 28, pp. 344-62.

I Introduction Biological functions are dispositions or effects a trait has which explain the recent maintenance of the trait under natural selection. This is the "modem history" approach to functions. The approach is historical because to ascribe a function is to make a claim about the past, but the relevant past is the recent past; modem history rather than ancient.