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HoP 039 - Form and Function - Aristotle's Four Causes

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

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Aristotle's Teleological Theory Is a Challenge to Evolution's Theory of Evolution

Aristotle's teleology was plausible in its day, but has ultimately been shown wrong by the theory of evolution. Since darwin we know that functional aspects of animals have nothing to do with some kind of natural final causation. They are rather the result of a long process whereby certain features are selected for inheritance depending on whether or not they are conducive to survival. The apparent design we see in nature is merely apparent. It is actually nothing but randomness constrained by the mechanisms of survival pressure and genetic inheritance.

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