Platonic and Aristotelian roots of teleological arguments in cosmology and biology

A Ariew - 2002 - philpapers.org
2002philpapers.org
AristotleÕs central argument for teleologyÑthough not necessarily his conclusionÑis
repeated in the teleological arguments of Isaac Newton, Immanuel Kant, William Paley, and
Charles Darwin. To appreciate AristotleÕs argument and its influence I assert, first, that
AristotleÕs naturalistic teleology must be distinguished from PlatoÕs anthropomorphic one;
second, the form of AristotleÕs arguments for teleology should be read as instances of
inferences to the best explanation. On my reading, then, both NewtonÕs and PaleyÕs …
Abstract
AristotleÕs central argument for teleologyÑthough not necessarily his conclusionÑis repeated in the teleological arguments of Isaac Newton, Immanuel Kant, William Paley, and Charles Darwin. To appreciate AristotleÕs argument and its influence I assert, first, that AristotleÕs naturalistic teleology must be distinguished from PlatoÕs anthropomorphic one; second, the form of AristotleÕs arguments for teleology should be read as instances of inferences to the best explanation. On my reading, then, both NewtonÕs and PaleyÕs teleological arguments are Aristotelian while their conclusions are Platonic. Kant and DarwinÕs arguments are likewise Aristotelian while their conclusions are unique
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