# chapter 3 of baker **Opening (not a real abstract):** Artifacts are ubiquitous in the world that we encounter. Most broadly, artifacts include everything that is produced intentionally – paintings and sculptures as well as scissors and microscopes. The term ‘‘artifact’’ applies to many different kinds of things – tools, documents, jewelry, scientific instruments, machines, furniture, and so on. Artifacts are contrasted with natural objects like rocks, trees, dogs, that are not made by human beings (or by higher primates). Although the category of artifact includes sculptures, paintings, literary works, and performances, I shall put aside these fascinating artifacts and focus only on artifacts that have practical functions. My concern here is with an important subclass of artifacts – technical artifacts, the material products of our endeavors to attain practical goals.