Teleology

2 definitions found

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

  Teleology \Te`le*ol"o*gy\, n. [Gr. ?, teleos, the end or issue +
     -logy: cf. F. t['e]l['e]ologie.]
     The doctrine of the final causes of things; specif. (Biol.),
     the doctrine of design, which assumes that the phenomena of
     organic life, particularly those of evolution, are explicable
     only by purposive causes, and that they in no way admit of a


     mechanical explanation or one based entirely on biological
     science; the doctrine of adaptation to purpose.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  teleology
       n : (philosophy) a doctrine explaining phenomena by their ends
           or purposes