>[!abstract] >Teleology (from τέλος, telos, "goal"; and λόγος, logos, "reason") is a branch of causality giving the reason or an explanation for something as a function of its end, its purpose, or its goal, as opposed to as a function of its cause (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Aristotelian philosophy]] (Aristotle’s four causes, where the final cause explains things in terms of their purpose) >- **West** (similar): [[Functionalism]] (in philosophy of biology and mind — explaining traits or systems by their functions) >- **East** (different): [[Mechanism]] (the view that natural phenomena are explained solely by physical processes, without intrinsic goals) >- **South** (downstream): —