A telos (from the Greek word for "end", "purpose", or "goal") is an end or
purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as
Aristotle. It is the root of the term "
teleology," roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology figures centrally in Aristotle's
biology and in his theory of
causes. It is central to nearly all philosophical theories of history, such as those of
Hegel and
Marx. One running debate in contemporary
philosophy of biology is to what extent teleological language (as in the "purposes" of various organs or life-processes) is unavoidable, or is simply a shorthand for ideas that can ultimately be spelled out nonteleologically.
Philosophy of action also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary: on
Davidson's account, an action is just something an agent does with an
intention--that is, looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action.
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