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The term derives from two Greek words, τέλος, from τελε-, ("end", "goal", "purpose") and νόμος nomos ("law"). Teleonomy is sometimes contrasted with teleology , where the latter is understood as a purposeful goal-directedness brought about through human or divine intention.
Teleology in biology is the use of the language of goal-directedness in accounts of evolutionary adaptation, which some biologists and philosophers of science find problematic. The term teleonomy has also been proposed.
An intentional state is transparent if it satisfies the following two conditions: (i) it is genuinely relational in that it entails the existence of not just the intender but the intendum as well, and (ii) substitutivity of identicals applies to the intendum (i.e. if the intentional state is about a, and a = b, then the intentional state is ...
Somewhat more abstract is the design stance, which is at the level of biology and engineering. This level is concerned with things such as purpose, function and design. Most abstract is the intentional stance, which is at the level of software and minds. This level is concerned with things such as belief, thinking and intent.
Function is not the same as purpose in the teleological sense, that is, possessing conscious mental intention to achieve a goal. In the philosophy of biology, evolution is a blind process which has no 'goal' for the future. For example, a tree does not grow flowers for any purpose, but does so simply because it has evolved to do so.
He posited natural teleology in its place, and believed that form was achieved for a purpose, citing the regularity of heredity in species as proof. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Nevertheless, he accepted in his biology that new types of animals, monstrosities (τερας), can occur in very rare instances ( Generation of Animals , Book IV). [ 6 ]
Postnaturalism is the theory of the postnatural, a term coined to describe organisms that have been intentionally and heritably altered by humans.Postnaturalism is a cultural process whereby organisms are bred to satisfy a specific cultural purpose.
An intention is a mental state in which a person commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the content of the intention while the commitment is the attitude towards this content. Other mental states can have action plans as their content, as when one ...