1st Edition

Teleology and the Norms of Nature

By William J. FitzPatrick Copyright 2000
    402 Pages
    by Routledge

    402 Pages
    by Routledge

    This work is an examination of teleological attributions i.e. ascriptions of proper functions and natural ends) to the features and behavior of living things with a view to understanding their application to human life.

    Preface; Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Functional Systems: Artificial and Organic; Chapter 3: Natural Selection; Genes and Organismic Welfare; Chapter 4: An Account of Biological Teleology; Chapter 5: Development and Applications of the Account; Chapter 6: Welfare and Natural Teleology; Chapter 7: Contrasts with Dawkins and with Standard Etiological Accounts; Chapter 8: An Account of Functional Teleological Explanation: Historical Sensitivity Without Reduction; Chapter 9: Biological Teleology in Human Life; Chapter 10:Human Nature and Morality; Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    William J. FitzPatrick is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Virginia Tech.