Teleology
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˌtiːliˈɒləd͡ʒi/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Teleology is a noun meaning (uncountable, philosophy) The study of the design or final purpose of natural occurrences, that is, of such occurrences being the result of intention instead of prior causes.
Meaning
(uncountable, philosophy) The study of the design or final purpose of natural occurrences, that is, of such occurrences being the result of intention instead of prior causes.
More Meanings
- (uncountable, religion) The belief or theory that a natural occurrence is the result of divine design or intention rather than the laws of nature or science; theoteleology; (countable) a particular belief or theory of this sort.
Example Sentences
The received intellectual tradition has it that, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, revolutionary philosophers began to curtail and reject the teleology of the medieval and scholastic Aristotelians, abandoning final causes in favor of a purely mechanistic model of the Universe.
Word Forms
- teleologies
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include teleologism, dysteleology, physicotheology, naturalism, nomology, ontology.
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Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
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