Purposiveness: Teleology Between Nature and Mind

by Luca Illetterati (Editor), Francesca Michelini (Editor)

Overview

Since the rise of modern thought and natural science, teleological discourses have been banished as explanatory tools in natural investigations. The various contributions to this volume embrace the task of rethinking natural purposiveness in accordance with natural science. They set out from the issue of whether, and in which form, it is possible to talk of purposes in nature, without resorting to an account requesting some intentional agent. The legitimacy of such a notion as that of internal teleology has been addressed, together with the issue of what the term "internal" properly denotes. It is meant to be an alternative both to the position of those who assume that teleology in biology requires a dimension transcending nature itself and find in teleological language an argument for the Intelligent Designer, and to the stance of those who aim to eliminate teleology from scientific inquiry altogether.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783110320992
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	08/15/2008
Pages:	219
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)
Language:	German
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Luca Illetterati is professor of theoretical philosophy at the University of Padua (Italy).

Francesca Michelini currently works at the Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Trento (Italy).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: ON FAITH AND BELIEF
Chapter 2: THE ONTOLOGICAL PROOF REVISITED
Chapter 3: RELIGION AND PRAGMATISM
Chapter 4: PROCESS THEOLOGY
Chapter 5: GOD’S PLACE IN PHILOSOPHY
Chapter 6: CAN A SCIENTIST BE SERIOUS ABOUT RELIGION?
Chapter 7: DARWINISM AND THE INTELLIGENT DESIGN IN THE CONTEXT OF THEISM
Chapter 8: AQUINAS AND THE PRINCIPLE OF EPISTEMIC DISPARITY
Chapter 9: THOMISM: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Chapter 10: RESPECT FOR TRADITION
Chapter 11: IN MATTERS OF RELIGION
Index of Names