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Teleology and Final Causation in Aristotle and in Contemporary Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2012

Michael Chase
Michael Chase*
Affiliation:
CNRS-Centre Jean Pépin Villejuif (Paris)
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Abstract

ABSTRACT: With a view to suggesting the possible relevance of Aristotelian thought to current notions of complexity and self-organization, studies Aristotle’s notions of teleology and final causation. After a sketch of the historical process by which such notions were finally rejected in the science of Galileo and Newton, attention is drawn to some contemporary trends in philosophy of science that argue for a return to some (modified) versions of the notion of final causation (I. Prigogine, R. Thom, S. Rosen). These arguments are illustrated by the example of Bénard cells, and the theories of Schneider, Kay, and D. Sagan.

RÉSUMÉ: En vue de suggérer l’éventuelle pertinence de la pensée aristotélicienne dans le cadre des notions actuelles de la compléxité et de l’auto-organisation, l’on étudie les notions aristotéliciennes de téléologie et de causalité finale. Après une esquisse du processus historique qui a vu le rejet définitif de telles notions à l’époque de Galilée et de Newton, l’on souligne un certain nombre de tendances dans la philosophie des sciences contemporaine où l’on fait appel à un retour d’une version modifiée de la notion de causalité finale (I. Prigogine, R. Thom, S. Rosen). Ces arguments sont illustrés par l’exemple des cellules de Bénard, ainsi que par les théories de Schneider, de Kay et de D. Sagan.

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Articles
Information
Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie , Volume 50 , Issue 3: Special Issue / Numéro spécial: Studies in Modern Philosophy: Études de philosophie moderne , September 2011 , pp. 511 - 536
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Philosophical Association 2012

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