teleology, (from Greek telos,“end,” and logos,“reason”), explanation by reference to some purpose, end, goal, or function. Traditionally, it was also described as final causality, in contrast with explanation solely in terms of efficient causes (the origin of a change or a state of ...
the theory that events and developments are meant to achieve a purpose and happen because of that Word Origin Take your English to the next level TheOxford Learner’s Thesaurusexplains the difference between groups of similar words. Try it for free as part of theOxford Advanced Learner’s ...
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This chapter considers the relevance of teleology for an account of causation. Mackie questions whether there are final causes that can be seen to operate in objective processes which are distinguishable from efficient causes. Examples from the natural world are considered and Mackie suggests that in...
There is a long tradition of arguments for the existence of God. Early examples include Aristotle's cosmological argument in Book Lambda of the Metaphysics, arguing that if there is change, there must be at least one unchanging and perfect being that originates all change, while the first chap...
The Lady and the Plants: Two Notions of Teleology in Agnes Arber's… 543 to develop in later works. These theories are representative examples, but are not the only places in which formal teleology informed Arber's work. In fact, it lay at the heart of Arber's definition of ...
By means of the latter, Leunissen manages to integrate Aristotle's examples of teleological explanation and inquiry into his theory of scientific demonstration. One of the general conclusions of the study is that biology, not mathematics, was Aristotle's central model for science and that his ...
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InMetaphysical Foundations, Kant argues that because the fields of ‘experimental physics’ examine chemical and organic items through examples, they cannot contain necessity and are thus ‘figurative’ or ‘improper’ sciences (uneigentliche Wissenschaften) (4:470). This is to say that they do not...