Everything about Final Cause totally explained
Final cause or telos, is one of
Aristotle's four forms of
causation (the others being
material,
formal, and
efficient). It is defined as the purpose, the good, or the end of something. For example, the final cause of a pen is decent writing.
Telos is often used among many ethicists today as it reflects the ancient meaning.
In science
In
science, final causes contrast with mechanical causes, which, in Aristotle's language, mainly encompass
material causes and
efficient causes.
Over time, many rejected the idea of a final cause, or the study of the good, because of there was too much disagreement.
Niccolò Machiavelli focused mainly on the material causes, and rejected the search for final causes as too difficult for most people. Although science has historically focused mostly on material causes, there has been some discussion and exploration of final causes in a scientific context, especially when studying systems at a
macroscopic level.
The laws of thermodynamics can be interpreted as a final cause, and this perspective is useful for explaining the spontaneous origin of new levels in a hierarchy. Ecologist
Robert Ulanowicz argues that
positive feedback in
ecosystems can have effects which appear at a local level to be the result of a final cause.
Further Information
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