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Teleology - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Teleology : (noun)
1: (philosophy) a doctrine explaining phenomena by their ends
or purposes
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Teleology : \Te`le*ol"o*gy\, n. [Gr. ?, teleos, the end or issue _
-logy: cf. F. t['e]l['e]ologie.]
The doctrine of the final causes of things; specif. (Biol.),
the doctrine of design, which assumes that the phenomena of
organic life, particularly those of evolution, are explicable
only by purposive causes, and that they in no way admit of a
mechanical explanation or one based entirely on biological
science; the doctrine of adaptation to purpose.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Teleology : Teleology: The study of the ultimate purpose of the design of something in nature.
For example, "what is the true purpose of the nose?" is a teleological question and, to say that all evolutionary changes occur for a definite purpose is a teleological explanation of evolution .
"Teleology" comes from ancient Greek roots but it (and teleological) did not enter English until the 18th century. It is a compound of the Greek "tele-, telos," meaning "end or purpose" _ the ending
"logos" meaning "the science or study of" = the study of the ends or purposes.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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