Telos (; ) is a term used by philosopher

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...

to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity, or of a work of human art. Intentional actualization of potential or inherent purpose,"Telos.
''Philosophy Terms''
Retrieved 3 May 2020. similar to the notion of an 'end goal' or ''. Moreover, it can be understood as the "supreme end of man's endeavour". ''Telos'' is the root of the modern term teleology, the study of purposiveness or of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology is central in Aristotle's work on plant and animal

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

, and human

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...

, through his theory of the four causes. Aristotle's notion that everything has a ''telos'' also gave rise to epistemology. Applied to philosophical theories of history, it refers to a messianic redemption or some other utopia, such as postulated by Christian salvation history, or in the schools of thought of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx.

In general philosophy

''Telos'' has been consistently used in the writings of Aristotle, in which the term, on several occasions, denotes 'goal'. It is considered synonymous to ''teleute'' ('end'), particularly in Aristotle's discourse about the plot-structure in ''

Poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

''. The philosopher went as far as to say that ''telos'' can encompass all forms of human activity. One can say, for instance, that the ''telos'' of warfare is victory, or the ''telos'' of business is the creation of wealth. Within this conceptualization, there are ''telos'' that are subordinate to other ''telos'', as all activities have their own, respective goals. For Aristotle, these subordinate ''telos'' can become the means to achieve more fundamental ''telos''. Through this concept, for instance, the philosopher underscored the importance of politics and that all other fields are subservient to it. He explained that the ''telos'' of the blacksmith is the production of a sword, while that of the swordsman's, which uses the weapon as a tool, is to kill or incapacitate an enemy. On the other hand, the ''telos'' of these occupations are merely part of the purpose of a ruler, who must oversee the direction and well-being of a state.

''Telos'' vs ''techne''

''Telos'' is associated with the concept called '' techne,'' which is the rational method involved in producing an object or accomplishing a goal or objective. In the Theuth/Thamus myth, for instance, the section covering ''techne'' referred to ''telos'' and ''techne'' together. The two methods are, however, not mutually exclusive in principle. These are demonstrated in the cases of writing and seeing, as explained by

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...

: the former is considered a form of ''techne'', as the end product lies beyond (''para'') the activity of producing; whereas, in seeing, there is no remainder outside of or beyond the activity itself at the moment it is accomplished. Aristotle, for his part, simply designated ''sophia'' (also referred to as the ''arete'' or excellence of philosophical reflection) as the consummation or the final cause (''telos'') of ''techne''. Heidegger attempted to explain the Aristotelian conceptualization outlined in the ''

Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...

'', where the ''eidos''the soul of the makerwas treated as the ''arche'' of the thing made (''ergon''). In this analogy, the telos constitutes the ''

arche ''Arche'' (; grc, ἀρχή; sometimes also transcribed as ''arkhé'') is a Greek word with primary senses "beginning", "origin" or "source of action" (: from the beginning, οr : the original argument), and later "first principle" or "element". ...

'' but in a certain degree not at the disposition of ''techne''.

In philosophy of science

One running debate in modern philosophy of biology is to what extent does teleological language (i.e., the 'purposes' of various organs or life-processes) remain unavoidable, and when does it simply become a shorthand for ideas that can ultimately be spelled out non-teleologically. According to Aristotle, the ''telos'' of a plant or animal is also "what it was made for"which can be observed. Trees, for example, seem to be made to grow, produce fruit/nuts/flowers, provide shade, and reproduce. Thus, these are all elements of trees' telos. Moreover, trees only possess such elements if it is healthy and thriving"only if it lives long enough and under the right conditions to fulfill its potential."

In social philosophy

Action theory also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary. From Donald Davidson's perspective, an ''action'' is just something an agent does with an

intention Intentions are mental states in which the agent 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 ''a ...

i.e., looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action. ''Action'' is considered just a step that is necessary to fulfill human telos, as it leads to habits. According to the Marxist perspective, historical change is dictated by socio-economic structures, which means that laws largely determine the realization of the ''telos'' of the

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

. Thus, as per the work of

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

and Marx, historical trends, too, have ''telos''.

References

External links

Teleological Notions in Biology
''

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') combines an online encyclopedia of philosophy with peer-reviewed publication of original papers in philosophy, freely accessible to Internet users. It is maintained by Stanford University. Eac ...