Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome | |||
| |||
Teleology: Teleology is the philosophical concept that suggests natural phenomena and processes have inherent purposes or goals, often implying a design guiding them towards a specific end. See also Goals, Purposes, Aristotle._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
Author | Concept | Summary/Quotes | Sources |
---|---|---|---|
Ernest Nagel on Teleology - Dictionary of Arguments
Wright I 28 Teleology/Balance/Homeostasis/Feedback/Cybernetics/Naqel/Braithwaite/Wright, G. H.: Example: Regulation of the temperature of a system by a thermostat. In this case, the rise or fall of the temperature is considered to be a "defect" or "correction" of a subsystem. The effect factor of the second system gives the effect of the cause factor of the first system an "appearance of teleology". However, both systems work according to causal laws. >Causal laws. Rosenblueth/Wiener/Bigelow: Thesis: Purposefulness can generally be explained with the help of such a chain of causal systems. --- Wright I 29 Braithwaite: Thesis: Teleological explanations, both of intentional target-oriented activities and of target-oriented behaviour in general can be reduced to (forms of) causal explanations.(1) Ernest Nagel(2): More cautious than Braithwaite: Thesis: Nagel sees teleological explanations in biology as "reducible" to causal explanations. Wright: this is a cautious reproduction of Ernest Nagel's view. 1. R. B. Braithwaite, Scientific Explanation, Cambridge, 1953 Kap X 2. E. Nagel, The Structure of Science, 1961, Kap XII_____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
NagE I E. Nagel The Structure of Science: Problems in the Logic of Scientific Explanation Cambridge, MA 1979 Nagel I Th. Nagel The Last Word, New York/Oxford 1997 German Edition: Das letzte Wort Stuttgart 1999 Nagel II Thomas Nagel What Does It All Mean? Oxford 1987 German Edition: Was bedeutet das alles? Stuttgart 1990 Nagel III Thomas Nagel The Limits of Objectivity. The Tanner Lecture on Human Values, in: The Tanner Lectures on Human Values 1980 Vol. I (ed) St. M. McMurrin, Salt Lake City 1980 German Edition: Die Grenzen der Objektivität Stuttgart 1991 NagelEr I Ernest Nagel Teleology Revisited and Other Essays in the Philosophy and History of Science New York 1982 WrightCr I Crispin Wright Truth and Objectivity, Cambridge 1992 German Edition: Wahrheit und Objektivität Frankfurt 2001 WrightCr II Crispin Wright "Language-Mastery and Sorites Paradox" In Truth and Meaning, G. Evans/J. McDowell, Oxford 1976 WrightGH I Georg Henrik von Wright Explanation and Understanding, New York 1971 German Edition: Erklären und Verstehen Hamburg 2008 |