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Webster 1913 Edition
Teleology
Teˊle-ol′o-gy
,Noun.
[Gr. [GREEK],
τελεος
, the end or issue + -logy
: cf. F. téléologie
.] The doctrine of the final causes of things
; specif. (Biol.)
, the doctrine of design, which assumes that the phenomena of organic life, particularly those of evolution, are explicable only by purposive causes, and that they in no way admit of a mechanical explanation or one based entirely on biological science; the doctrine of adaptation to purpose.
Webster 1828 Edition
Teleology
TELEOL'OGY
,Noun.