Teleology in Aristotle

Abstract This chapter discusses Aristotle’s theory of natural teleology, especially as it features in his natural philosophy and biology. After a brief examination of Aristotle’s famous exhortation to his students about the value of studying sublunary living beings, the chapter offers a concise characterization of his conception of natural teleology in terms of the goal-directed (“crafting”) actions of immanent, internal natures, a discussion of Aristotle’s most explicit defense of teleology in the Physics, and an overview of the role teleology plays in his accounts of animal generation and sexual reproduction and in his explanations of why animals have the parts and features they have.