Teleology
From ResearchID.org, a nexus for researching Intelligent Design
Teleology is an ancient philosophical system which explains natural things in terms of final ends; because organelles, cells, organisms fulfill functions, attain goals, achieve purposes, they are designed. In philosophy of religion the teleological argument for the existence of God is asymmetric to ontological and cosmological arguments.[1]
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Nature
Aristotle, like many of his contemporaries, was preoccupied with the notion of change. He observed change in first, the behavior of living organisms, and second, purposeful human action in that they both move towards achieving ends. Living organisms, through reproduction and growth, always exhibit a striving towards predetermined functions. An organism inherently achieves these ends in order to fulfill its function. For Aristotle, organisms neither have “purposes” in the traditional sense nor attain ends by choice but instead have built-in goal-directed behavior. This innate quality of attaining ends is the organism achieving its function all for the sake of surviving in its particular environment. Further, an organism, person or thing is true to its nature (Good) when it fulfills its function: as when a shipbuilder correctly builds a ship, a physician heals the injured, when an army wins a battle, an otter successfully catches its prey or a man contemplates the consequences of alternative actions prior to taking action. Thus he (man) fulfills his function by using his intelligence to attain desired ends. This notion of things effectively fulfilling function significantly affects how ID theorists and Darwinists think and argue about man's role in the cosmos.
Any observable natural phenomenon has being, the fact “that” it exists, and a prior mechanistic immediate cause that explains “why” it exists. Science, for Aristotle, is going beyond sense-data derived from experience of the subject to learn the causes for its existence. For instance, when we observe steam rising from boiling water we see that it exists, but upon further investigation we understand that heat is the reason why steam exists. Plato like Aristotle criticized other philosophers for denying or failing to discern final ends.
Immediate Cause<-------Why it exists--------->Final Cause
mechanistic----------------------------------------end, purpose
Heat------------------------Steam-------------------To cook food
Switch--------------------Porchlight------------------Safety
means<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<intended object of desire
Human Art
Human action is goal-directed activity (hopefully) based on choice and reason that moves toward a desired end, which is explained as the final cause. Goal-directed action involves a process of using or doing something for the sake of attaining something else. Say, for example your wife unknowing to you invited your neighbor Lucy over to discuss some heavy-duty cake recipes. Shortly, you ask your wife why the porch light is on and she replies, “So Lucy can see the front walk.” Your wife intends to provide safety for Lucy, and turns the porch light on to acheive this end. Aristotle says that human action always aims at some end. While the means we use or perform are instrumental ends, the goals one attempts to achieve are final ends. In Nicomachean Ethics, he says that instrumental ends, such as an army training troops, building barracks and healing the injured are done for the sake of attaining the final end of victory. His doctrine of four causes--events that occurs prior to an effect--are explanations why something exists.
Formal: idea of what is to be made (e.g. a statue of Aphrodite)
Material: what is it made of (marble)
Efficient: how it it made (by a sculptor who applies skills using tools)
Final: its purpose or function achieved (decoration, love i.e. Aphrodite)
Before we can attain a goal, we must first satisfy the sufficient or necessary causative preconditions. Ontologically, the precondition must exist if a goal is to be attained. A precondition is the antecedent in a conditional statement. As the Pragmatist says--If you want X, do Y.
ID: Intelligence Imposed on Matter
Routinely mischaracterized by journalists, intelligent design presents logical and theoretical criticisms for naturalistic ontolologies. Though design theory is not easily understood one need not be a scientist or lecturer of Letters to understand it's basic premises. Teleology, as opposed to philosophical naturalism contends that an originating force, directive principle or intelligent agency is the cause for complex living systems. ID theorists teleologically argue that information content of complex structures (e.g., DNA) is produced by intelligent causation. Theoretically, complex specified information can only be caused by intelligence. Contrarily, philosophical naturalism argues that a directive force, intelligent agency does not exist; complex living organisms are brought about by unintelligent, purposeless causes. I
IDists claim: No unintelligent events will cause complex living structures. (DNA instructs every biochemical event in cells and organisms.)
Darwinists claim: Some unintelligent events, RM&NS, cause complex living structures. (Random Mutation, random events totally independent from each other.)
Historically, whenever the debate was between religion and science, Darwinism usually won, yet the intelligent design movement presents a new playing field of science vs. science. Exceedingly more advanced than St. Anselm's Ontological Argument or design based "Paley's Watch," two chief design theory arguments are based on complex specified information, CSI (Dembski) and irreducible complexity, IC (Behe).
Endnotes
- ^ Mod.L. teleologia meaning the study of ends or goals, teleo- from Gk. telos meaning "end", -logy from Gk. logos meaning "word" or as a suffix "the study of."
