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Explanation and Teleology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

Larry Wright
Larry Wright*
Affiliation:
University of California, Riverside
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Abstract

This paper develops and draws the consequences of an etiological analysis of goal-directedness modeled on one that functions centrally in Charles Taylor's work on action. The author first presents, criticizes, and modifies Taylor's formulation, and then shows his modified formulation accounts easily for much of the fine-structure of teleological concepts and conceptualizations. Throughout, the author is at pains to show that teleological explanations are orthodox from an empiricist's point of view: they require nothing novel methodologically.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 39 , Issue 2 , June 1972 , pp. 204 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © 1972 by The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

†

The research for this project was carried out under a grant from the University of California Humanities Institute. This version of the paper has benefited significantly from suggestions and criticisms offered by the editors of Philosophy of Science.

References

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