The Cunning of Geist 026 - Teleology, Evolution, Aristotle, and Hegel
This episode discusses how the materialistic neo-Darwinian conception of evolution does not tell the whole story of what is going on here.
As Thomas Nagel states, “Mind, I suspect, is not an inexplicable accident or a divine and anomalous gift but a basic aspect of nature that we will not understand until we transcend the built-in limits of contemporary scientific orthodoxy.”
What is missing from naturalistic materialism's view of evolution is purpose. Aristotle put purpose at the center of his idea of eudaemonia, the Greek term for the greater good or happiness, that of having a meaningful goal and making the effort to achieve it.
This is similar to Hegel's teleological view of nature itself, that it has a purpose, for Spirit/Mind to come to know itself through the historical struggle we all are a part of.