Abstract
This is an old and venerable problem of philosophy (1). It is sometimes stated that a discussion of teleological action, i.e., goal-aimed, conscious, purposeful, and deliberate action, is outside the realm of science. This objection is not justified. Since man is a biological species, discussion of goal-aimed, conscious action and free will is in fact a legitimate topic of biology. Moreover, it is probable that some kind of teleological action occurs in the animal kingdom as well, at least with some higher mammals.
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Mohr, H. (1977). The Structure of Teleological Action. In: Lectures on Structure and Significance of Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45496-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45496-7_7
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