Description
Book SynopsisTeleology is the belief that some things happen, or exist for the sake of other things. It is the belief that, for example, salmon swim upstream in order to spawn, and that bears have claws for the sake of catching fish. This volume takes up the intuitive yet puzzling concept of teleology as it has been treated by philosophers from ancient times to the present day. It includes nine main chapters centered on the treatment of teleology in Plato, Aristotle, the Islamic medieval tradition, the Jewish medieval tradition, the Latin medieval tradition, the early modern era, Kant, Hegel, and contemporary philosophy. Each chapter probes central questions such as: is teleology inherent in its subjects or is it imposed on them from the outside? Does teleology necessarily involve intentionality, that is, a subject''s cognizing some end, goal, or purpose? What is the scope of teleology? Is it, for example, applicable to elements and animals, or only to rational beings? Finally, is teleology explana
Table of ContentsIntroduction - Jeffrey K. McDonough 1. Plato's Teleology - Thomas Kjeller Johansen 2. Teleology in Aristotle - Mariska Leunissen Reflection I: Teleology and Function in Galenic Anatomy - Patricia Marechal 3. Avicenna on Teleology: Final Causation and Goodness - Kara Richardson 4. Teleology in the Later Middle Ages - Robert Pasnau Reflection II: Teleology in Cimabue's Apocalypse Murals at Assisi - Holly Flora 5. Teleology in Jewish Philosophy: Early Talmudists to Spinoza - Yitzhak Melamed 6. Not Dead Yet: Teleology and the Scientific Revolution - Jeffrey McDonough Reflection III: The End of Poetry: Teleology in Philip Sidney's Sonnets - Kathryn Murphy 7. The Revised Method of Physico-Theology: Kant's Reformed Teleology - Paul Guyer 8. Hegel: The Reality and Priority of Immanent Teleology - James Kreines Reflection IV: Decoding the Teleology of Jazz - Anna Harwell Celenza 9. Contemporary Teleology - Patrick Forber
