Aristotle's conception of final causality

Evolutionary Biology and Classical Teleological Arguments for God's Existence

“…Gotthelf believes that this is not Aristotle's solution. He holds that Aristotle would have believed that a given process' ‘coming‐to‐be’ only exists for the sake of the form that is developed at the end of the process . However, he goes further in ultimately arguing for what I call ‘ontogenic’ teleological development as the only possible kind of teleology that Aristotle could espouse .…”

Nature as a Good Housekeeper: Secondary Teleology and Material Necessity in Aristotle’s Biology

“…See Gotthelf (1987), 197-8. Ph II 9, 200a15-22, where Aristotle discusses the validity of inferences from the prior to the posterior (and the other way around) in causal sequences dealing with mathematical objects on the one hand, and natural, generated objects on the other hand.…”

“…I am grateful for, and tried to do justice to, critical comments by Frans de Haas, Jim Hankinson, Devin Henry, and Jim Lennox on earlier drafts of this paper.2 My characterization of 'primary teleology' throughout this paper builds on Gotthelf's analysis of Aristotle's teleology; seeGotthelf (1976-77) and.Brought to you by | Tulane University Authenticated | 129.81.226.149 Download Date | 9/19/13 8:23 PM…”

“…See my discussion below.7 For examples of parts whose function is mentioned in the defi nition of the substantial being, seeCode (1997), 139-40 andGotthelf (1987), 190-1. However, I believe that I can justify this reading based on how Aristotle treats this group of parts in other contexts, most notably in De Partibus Animalium.…”

Concepts of Space in Greek Thought

“…This, I think, leaves room for a fairly 'loose' use of the notion of a final cause. For a defence of a more restricted use of the term 'final cause' see Gotthelf (1987) esp. 214, n. 18, where it is argued that the natural motions of the elements are not 'for the sake of anything, so that here the notion of a final cause should not be invoked.…”