Telos (/ˈtɛlɒs, ˈtiːlɒs/;Ancient Greek: τέλος, romanized: télos, lit. 'end, purpose, goal') is a term used by philosopher Aristotle to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity, or of human art. Telos is the root of the modern term teleology, the study of purposiveness or of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology is central in Aristotle's work on plant and animal biology, and human ethics, through his theory of the four causes. Aristotle's notion that everything has a telos also gave rise to epistemology.
In Aristotle
Telos has been consistently used in the writings of Aristotle, in which the term, on several occasions, denotes 'goal'. It is considered synonymous to teleute ('end'), particularly in Aristotle's discourse about the plot-structure in Poetics. The philosopher went as far as to say that telos can encompass all forms of human activity. One can say, for instance, that the telos of warfare is victory, or the telos of business is the creation of wealth. Within this conceptualization, there are telos that are subordinate to other telos, as all activities have their own, respective goals.
For Aristotle, these subordinate telos can become the means to achieve more fundamental telos. Through this concept, for instance, the philosopher underscored the importance of politics and that all other fields are subservient to it. He explained that the telos of the blacksmith is the production of a sword, while that of the swordsman's, which uses the weapon as a tool, is to kill or incapacitate an enemy. On the other hand, the telos of these occupations are merely part of the purpose of a ruler, who must oversee the direction and well-being of a state.
Moreover, it can be understood as the "supreme end of man's endeavour".
"Pleasure and pain moreover supply the motives of desire and of avoidance, and the springs of conduct generally. This being so, it clearly follows that actions are right and praiseworthy only as being a means to the attainment of a life of pleasure. But that which is not itself a means to anything else, but to which all else is a means, is what the Greeks term the Telos, the highest, ultimate or final Good. It must therefore be admitted that the Chief Good is to live agreeably."
— Cicero, De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, Book I
Telos vs techne
Telos is associated with the concept called techne, which is the rational method involved in producing an object or accomplishing a goal or objective. In the Theuth/Thamus myth, for instance, the section covering techne referred to telos and techne together. The two methods are, however, not mutually exclusive in principle. These are demonstrated in the cases of writing and seeing, as explained by Martin Heidegger: the former is considered a form of techne, as the end product lies beyond (para) the activity of producing; whereas, in seeing, there is no remainder outside of or beyond the activity itself at the moment it is accomplished. Aristotle, for his part, simply designated sophia (also referred to as the arete or excellence of philosophical reflection) as the consummation or the final cause (telos) of techne. Heidegger attempted to explain the Aristotelian conceptualization outlined in the Nicomachean Ethics, where the eidos – the soul of the maker – was treated as the arche of the thing made (ergon). In this analogy, the telos constitutes the arche but in a certain degree not at the disposition of techne.
In modern philosophy
The notion of purpose, or telos, has formed the foundation of cybernetics, and is now part of the modern analysis of social media platforms as intelligent social machines.
Action theory also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary. From Donald Davidson's perspective, an action is just something an agent does with an intention – i.e., looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action.Action is considered just a step that is necessary to fulfill human telos, as it leads to habits.
According to the Marxist perspective, historical change is dictated by socio-economic structures (or "laws"), which are simultaneously preconditions and limitations of the realization of the telos of the class struggle.
See also
- Conatus
- Dysteleology
- Metaphysics
- Plato
- Polytely
- Teleological argument
- Teleonomy
References
- "telos". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
- "Teleological ethics". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008 [1998].
- Eagles, Munroe (2008). Politics: An Introduction to Modern Democratic Government. Ontario: Broadview Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-1551118581.
- Nyusztay, Ivan (2002). Myth, Telos, Identity: The Tragic Schema in Greek and Shakespearean Drama. New York: Rodopi. p. 84. ISBN 9042015403.
- Baggini, Julian (2016). Philosophy: Key Texts. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 14. ISBN 978-0333964859.
- Grayling, A. C. (2019). The History of Philosophy. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-0241980866.
- "Introduction to 'de Finabus'." Cicero: de Finibus XVII (2nd ed.). Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press (1931), transcribed by B. Thayer.
- Rackham, H. Harris, trans. 1931. "Book I." In Cicero: de Finibus XVII (2nd ed.). Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, transcribed by B. Thayer. p. 42.
- Griswold, Charles (2010). Self-Knowledge in Plato's Phaedrus. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-0271016184.
- McNeill, William (2012). Time of Life, The: Heidegger and Ethos. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0791467831.
- Rojcewicz, Richard (2006). The Gods and Technology: A Reading of Heidegger. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0791466414.
- Radloff, Bernhard (2007). Heidegger and the Question of National Socialism: Disclosure and Gestalt. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 354. ISBN 978-0802093158.
- Cristianini, Nello (2023). The shortcut : why intelligent machines do not think like us (1st ed.). Boca Raton. ISBN 978-1-003-33581-8. OCLC 1352480147.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Altshuler, Roman; Sigrist, Michael J. (2016). Time and the Philosophy of Action. Routledge. ISBN 978-1317819479.
- Fløistad, Guttorm (2012). Volume 3: Philosophy of Action. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 10. ISBN 978-9024732999.
External links
- Teleological Notions in Biology, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Alexander, Victoria N. Narrative Telos: The Ordering Tendencies of Chance. Dactyl Foundation.
Telos ˈ t ɛ l ɒ s ˈ t iː l ɒ s Ancient Greek telos romanized telos lit end purpose goal is a term used by philosopher Aristotle to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity or of human art Telos is the root of the modern term teleology the study of purposiveness or of objects with a view to their aims purposes or intentions Teleology is central in Aristotle s work on plant and animal biology and human ethics through his theory of the four causes Aristotle s notion that everything has a telos also gave rise to epistemology In AristotleTelos has been consistently used in the writings of Aristotle in which the term on several occasions denotes goal It is considered synonymous to teleute end particularly in Aristotle s discourse about the plot structure in Poetics The philosopher went as far as to say that telos can encompass all forms of human activity One can say for instance that the telos of warfare is victory or the telos of business is the creation of wealth Within this conceptualization there are telos that are subordinate to other telos as all activities have their own respective goals For Aristotle these subordinate telos can become the means to achieve more fundamental telos Through this concept for instance the philosopher underscored the importance of politics and that all other fields are subservient to it He explained that the telos of the blacksmith is the production of a sword while that of the swordsman s which uses the weapon as a tool is to kill or incapacitate an enemy On the other hand the telos of these occupations are merely part of the purpose of a ruler who must oversee the direction and well being of a state Moreover it can be understood as the supreme end of man s endeavour Pleasure and pain moreover supply the motives of desire and of avoidance and the springs of conduct generally This being so it clearly follows that actions are right and praiseworthy only as being a means to the attainment of a life of pleasure But that which is not itself a means to anything else but to which all else is a means is what the Greeks term the Telos the highest ultimate or final Good It must therefore be admitted that the Chief Good is to live agreeably Cicero De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum Book I Telos vs techne Telos is associated with the concept called techne which is the rational method involved in producing an object or accomplishing a goal or objective In the Theuth Thamus myth for instance the section covering techne referred to telos and techne together The two methods are however not mutually exclusive in principle These are demonstrated in the cases of writing and seeing as explained by Martin Heidegger the former is considered a form of techne as the end product lies beyond para the activity of producing whereas in seeing there is no remainder outside of or beyond the activity itself at the moment it is accomplished Aristotle for his part simply designated sophia also referred to as the arete or excellence of philosophical reflection as the consummation or the final cause telos of techne Heidegger attempted to explain the Aristotelian conceptualization outlined in the Nicomachean Ethics where the eidos the soul of the maker was treated as the arche of the thing made ergon In this analogy the telos constitutes the arche but in a certain degree not at the disposition of techne In modern philosophyThe notion of purpose or telos has formed the foundation of cybernetics and is now part of the modern analysis of social media platforms as intelligent social machines Action theory also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary From Donald Davidson s perspective an action is just something an agent does with an intention i e looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action Action is considered just a step that is necessary to fulfill human telos as it leads to habits According to the Marxist perspective historical change is dictated by socio economic structures or laws which are simultaneously preconditions and limitations of the realization of the telos of the class struggle See alsoConatus Dysteleology Metaphysics Plato Polytely Teleological argument TeleonomyReferences telos Dictionary com Unabridged Online n d Teleological ethics Encyclopaedia Britannica 2008 1998 Eagles Munroe 2008 Politics An Introduction to Modern Democratic Government Ontario Broadview Press p 87 ISBN 978 1551118581 Nyusztay Ivan 2002 Myth Telos Identity The Tragic Schema in Greek and Shakespearean Drama New York Rodopi p 84 ISBN 9042015403 Baggini Julian 2016 Philosophy Key Texts New York Palgrave Macmillan p 14 ISBN 978 0333964859 Grayling A C 2019 The History of Philosophy Penguin UK ISBN 978 0241980866 Introduction to de Finabus Cicero de Finibus XVII 2nd ed Loeb Classical Library Harvard University Press 1931 transcribed by B Thayer Rackham H Harris trans 1931 Book I In Cicero de Finibus XVII 2nd ed Loeb Classical Library Harvard University Press transcribed by B Thayer p 42 Griswold Charles 2010 Self Knowledge in Plato s Phaedrus University Park PA Pennsylvania State University Press p 160 ISBN 978 0271016184 McNeill William 2012 Time of Life The Heidegger and Ethos Albany State University of New York Press p 6 ISBN 978 0791467831 Rojcewicz Richard 2006 The Gods and Technology A Reading of Heidegger Albany State University of New York Press p 64 ISBN 978 0791466414 Radloff Bernhard 2007 Heidegger and the Question of National Socialism Disclosure and Gestalt Toronto University of Toronto Press p 354 ISBN 978 0802093158 Cristianini Nello 2023 The shortcut why intelligent machines do not think like us 1st ed Boca Raton ISBN 978 1 003 33581 8 OCLC 1352480147 a href wiki Template Cite book title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Altshuler Roman Sigrist Michael J 2016 Time and the Philosophy of Action Routledge ISBN 978 1317819479 Floistad Guttorm 2012 Volume 3 Philosophy of Action The Hague Martinus Nijhoff Publishers p 10 ISBN 978 9024732999 External linksTeleological Notions in Biology Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Alexander Victoria N Narrative Telos The Ordering Tendencies of Chance Dactyl Foundation
