Telos (/ˈtɛlɒs,ˈtiːlɒs/;[1]Ancient Greek:τέλος,romanized: télos,lit. 'end, purpose, goal')[2] is a term used by the philosopherAristotle to refer to thefinal cause of a natural organ or entity, or of humanart. The Greek wordtelos is theroot 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 animalbiology, and in his analysis of humanethics, through his theory of thefour causes. Aristotle's notion that everything has atelos also gave rise toepistemology.[3]
Telos has been consistently used in the writings of Aristotle, in which the term, on several occasions, denotes 'goal'.[4] It is considered synonymous toteleute ('end'), particularly in Aristotle's discourse about the plot-structure inPoetics.[4] The philosopher went as far as to say thattelos can encompass all forms of human activity.[5] One can say, for instance, that thetelos of warfare is victory, or thetelos of business is the creation ofwealth. Within this conceptualization, there aretelos that are subordinate to othertelos, as all activities have their own respective goals.
For Aristotle, these subordinatetelos can become the means to achieve more fundamentaltelos.[5] Through this concept, for instance, the philosopher underscored the importance of politics and that all other fields are subservient to it. He explained that thetelos 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.[6] On the other hand, thetelos of these occupations are merely part of the purpose of a ruler, who must oversee the direction and well-being of a state.[6]
Moreover, it can be understood as the "supreme end of man's endeavour".[7]
"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[8]
Telos is associated with the concept calledtechne, 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 coveringtechne referred totelos andtechne together.[9] The two methods are, however, not mutually exclusive in principle. These are demonstrated in the cases ofwriting and seeing, as explained byMartin Heidegger: the former is considered a form oftechne, 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.[10] Aristotle, for his part, simply designatedsophia (also referred to as thearete or excellence of philosophical reflection) as the consummation or the final cause (telos) oftechne.[11] Heidegger attempted to explain the Aristotelian conceptualization outlined in theNicomachean Ethics, where theeidos – the soul of the maker – was treated as thearche of the thing made (ergon).[12] In this analogy, the telos constitutes thearche but in a certain degree not at the disposition oftechne.[12]
The notion of purpose, or telos, has formed the foundation ofcybernetics, and is now part of the modern analysis ofsocial media platforms as intelligentsocial machines.[13]
Action theory also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary. FromDonald Davidson's perspective, anaction is just something an agent does with anintention – i.e., looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action.[14]Action is considered just a step that is necessary to fulfill human telos, as it leads to habits.[14]
According to theMarxist perspective, historical change is dictated by socio-economic structures (or "laws"), which are simultaneously preconditions and limitations of the realization of thetelos of theclass struggle.[15]
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