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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 period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
to refer to the
final cause The four causes or four explanations are, in Aristotelian thought, four fundamental types of answer to the question "why?", in analysis of change or movement in nature: the material, the formal, the efficient, and the final. Aristotle wrote th ...
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 In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
of the modern term
teleology Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
, 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 hereditary i ...
, 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 m ...
, through his theory of the
four causes The four causes or four explanations are, in Aristotelian thought, four fundamental types of answer to the question "why?", in analysis of change or movement in nature: the material, the formal, the efficient, and the final. Aristotle wrote th ...
. Aristotle's notion that everything has a ''telos'' also gave rise to
epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...
. Applied to philosophical theories of history, it refers to a messianic redemption or some other utopia, such as postulated by Christian
salvation history Salvation history (german: Heilsgeschichte) seeks to understand the personal redemptive activity of God within human history in order to effect his eternal saving intentions. This approach to history is found in parts of the Old Testament writt ...
, or in the schools of thought of
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich 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 ...
and
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
.


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 Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...
. 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 In philosophy, techne (; , ) is a term that refers to making or doing, which in turn is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "Teks-" meaning "to weave," also "to fabricate". As an activity, ''technē'' is concrete, variable, and context-dep ...
,'' 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 Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...
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 The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers generally have lon ...
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 intentioni.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 Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 p ...
, historical trends, too, have ''telos''.


See also

*
Conatus In the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, conatus (; :wikt:conatus; Latin for "effort; endeavor; impulse, inclination, tendency; undertaking; striving") is an innate inclination of a thing to continue to exist and enhance itself. This "thing" may be ...
*
Dysteleology Dysteleology, also known as the argument from poor design, is the philosophical view that existence has no ''telos'' - no final cause from purposeful design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for th ...
*
Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
*
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
*
Polytely __NOTOC__ Polytely (from Greek roots ''poly-'' and ''-tel-'' meaning "many goals") comprises complex problem-solving situations characterized by the presence of multiple simultaneous goals.Funke 2001, p.72. These goals may be contradictory or otherw ...
*
Teleological argument The teleological argument (from ; also known as physico-theological argument, argument from design, or intelligent design argument) is an argument for the existence of God or, more generally, that complex functionality in the natural world wh ...
*
Teleonomy Teleonomy is the quality of apparent purposefulness and of goal-directedness of structures and functions in living organisms brought about by natural processes like natural selection. The term derives from the Greek "τελεονομία", compound ...


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 ...
'' * Alexander, Victoria N
''Narrative Telos: The Ordering Tendencies of Chance''
Dactyl Foundation Dactyl Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization in New York City founded by New York-based artist Neil Grayson and novelist/philosopher of science V.N. Alexander. History Founded in 1997 in the "evening of the postmodern day," ...
. {{Use British English Oxford spelling, date=February 2018 Action (philosophy) Aristotelianism Causality Concepts in ancient Greek epistemology Concepts in ancient Greek metaphysics Concepts in ancient Greek philosophy of mind Concepts in social philosophy Concepts in the philosophy of science Philosophy of Aristotle Teleology Theories in ancient Greek philosophy