In a message dated 1/16/00 5:22:10 PM Central Standard Time,
rowen@technologist.com writes:
> If, for the sake of argument, we adopt Aristotle's distinction
> between "final" and "formal" causes, it is possible to assert that
> nature as we observe it appears to be the "effect" of a pattern
> of causes having a formal property without implying teleology.
Yes, and viewing evolution in this way can make studying natural science all
the more thrilling. But "design" without teleology isn't what the theistic
"argument from design" has in mind at all.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
ICQ # 61112550
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
-- Desmond Morris
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