Teleos

Teleology ebbs and flows in popularity.

The Greeks, Aristotle, predominantly, believed that nature was teleological.

Teleology, loosely translated, means that everything in nature is programmed to move towards a specific end.

An acorn’s teleos is to become an oak tree.

Etta James’ teleos was to sing “At Last”.

Plato and Aristotle espoused teleology, as did Kant and Hegel.

Hegel, we recall, articulated the “dialectic”, a form of teleology.

The dialectic was not Hegel’s original concept, but history still gives him credit for it.

Even he attributed it to Kant.

Actually, a somewhat more obscure sage, Johann Fichte, developed the concept before Hegel.

Hegel’s dialectic proposes that nature moves in a pattern of “thesis, antithesis, synthesis”.

The classic example is the French revolution.

From “storm the Bastille” to the guillotine to Napoleon to victory in Egypt to disaster in Russia.

And the beat goes on.

If, in fact, our genes, or natural laws, require us to be and do certain things, do we have any free will at all?

The fact that we have a choice to believe that we have free will or not answers the question for me.

Unless all mental activity is a delusion, I think, therefore I am; and, I think that I have some control over my life – but not complete control.

Circumstances happen to us.

How we respond is where Adam meets the apple.

Let’s review: we all either have a pre-programmed mission, or we have the free will to choose one.

Teleological purists believe that we have no control over life; moderates believe that we have some control.

If you believe that you control your own destiny, then it’s all on you: you have to develop your mission or float through the seas of life like a rudderless ship.

If you believe that you do not have much choice in the matter, you are not off the hook.

If you do not discover your predestined mission, you will suffer for acting contrary to it; the more you bring it into sharper focus, the happier you will be.

In the end, you see, nature may just want you to do your job without bitching about it.

What if you spent some time this week on your personal mission statement?

Prove that you have some control!

Could you attain a state of telosity?

Yes, I confess.

I made that word up.