Final cause
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
[edit] 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.[citation needed] 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,[1] and this perspective is useful for explaining the spontaneous origin of new levels in a hierarchy.[2] 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.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ J.S. Wicken, Causal Explanations in Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics, Philosophy of Science, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 65-77
- ^ [1] S.N. Salthe, "The Spontaneous Origin of New Levels in a Scalar Hierarchy", Entropy 2004, 6, pp. 327-343
- ^ [2] R.E. Ulanowicz, Aristotelean Causalities in Ecosystem Development , Oikos, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Feb., 1990), pp. 42-48
