Teleology

Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value, existentialist thought often includes concepts such as existential crises, angst, courage, and freedom.

philosophical and spiritual question concerning the significance of living or existence in general

thumb|upright=1.15|Plato (left) and [[Aristotle, depicted here in The School of Athens, both developed teleological arguments addressing the universe's apparent order (logos)]]

thumb|right|Destiny, painting by Thomas Cooper Gotch|T. C. Gotch (1885–1886), [[Adelaide, Art Gallery of South Australia]]

thumb|Evolutionary progress as a tree of life (biology)|tree of life. [[Ernst Haeckel, 1866]] thumb|upright=1.4|Lamarck's two-factor theory involves 1) a complexifying force that drives animal body plans towards higher levels (orthogenesis) creating a ladder of phyla, and 2) an adaptive force that causes animals with a given body plan to adapt to circumstances (use and disuse, [[inheritance of acquired characteristics), creating a diversity of species and genera. Popular views of Lamarckism only consider an aspect of the adaptive force.]] Orthogenesis is an obsolete biological hypothesis that

argument for the existence of a god from perceived patterns of intelligent design in nature

ecological theory

Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint.

Telos (; ) is a term used by the philosopher Aristotle to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity, or of human art. The Greek word is the root 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 animal biology, and in his analysis of human ethics, through his theory of the four causes. Aristotle's notion that everything has a telos also gave rise to epistemology.

Teleonomy is the quality of apparent purposefulness and of goal-directedness of structures and functions in living organisms brought about by natural processes like natural selection. The term derives from two Greek words, τέλος, from τελε-, ("end", "goal", "purpose") and νόμος nomos ("law"). Teleonomy is sometimes contrasted with teleology, where the latter is understood as a purposeful goal-directedness brought about through human or divine intention. Teleonomy is thought to derive from evolutionary history, adaptation for reproductive success, and/or the operation of a program. Teleonomy is

Dysteleology is the philosophical view that existence has no telos - no final cause from purposeful design as opposed to teleology.

use of language of goal-directedness in the context of evolutionary adaptation

the philosophical idea or fact that something has a historical origin

systems thinking heuristic

the idea that German unification was inevitable and that it was Prussia's destiny to accomplish it