Dysteleology

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Dysteleology \Dys*te`le*ol"o*gy\, n. [Pref. dys- + teleology.]
     (Biol.)
     The doctrine of purposelessness; a term applied by Haeckel to
     that branch of physiology which treats of rudimentary organs,
     in view of their being useless to the life of the organism.
     [1913 Webster]


  
           To the doctrine of dysteleology, or the denial of final
           causes, a proof of the real existence of such a thing
           as instinct must necessarily be fatal.   --Word
                                                    (Dynamic
                                                    Sociology).
     [1913 Webster]