teleological

American  

[tel-ee-uh-loj-i-kuhl, tee-lee-] / ˌtɛl i əˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl, ˌti li- /

Sometimes teleologic

adjective

Philosophy.

1. of or relating to teleology, the philosophical doctrine that final causes, design, and purpose exist in nature.

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Other Word Forms

• nonteleological adjective
• nonteleologically adverb
• teleologically adverb

Etymology

Origin of teleological

teleolog(y) + -ical

Explanation

Teleological means starting from the end and reasoning back, explaining things based on their end purpose. A teleological statement you've probably heard before is "everything happens for a reason." Teleological comes from the Greek roots telos "end" or "purpose" and -ology "study of." So teleology and teleological arguments try to explain the result (for example, the complexity and seeming order of the universe) by postulating a purpose. If you take a teleological view of humanity, you think human life has purpose and is moving toward some goal.

Example Sentences

Today, some might think that atomism and Aristotle’s teleological view have evolved into a theory of cells that resolves the acorn-oak tree identity problem.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

Ross seems to acknowledge that, but he also protests that the “Wagner-to-Hitler” meme suggests a teleological progression that, while perhaps convenient, is dangerously simplistic.

From New York Times • Sep. 16, 2020

We can't have a teleological view of the future.

From Salon • Oct. 8, 2019

The standard story about mass printing is a story of linear, teleological progress.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 23, 2019

Such is the fear of being accused of writing Whig or teleological history that it is difficult to find an historian making simple and elementary points of this sort.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton