Teleology and the Investigation of Natural Sciences Philosophical Contributions

Available online at: http://pt.scribd.com/doc/124754643/Teleology-and-the-Investigation-of-NaturalSciences-%E2%80%93-Philosophical-Contributions

Vitor Vieira Vasconcelos 1 Paulo Pereira Martins Junior 2

1 Legislative Consultant of Environment and Sustainable Management at the Legislative Power of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. PhD. student in Geology. Master of Arts in Geography. Specialist in Soil and Environment. Bachelor in Philosophy. Environmental Technician. Computer Science Technician. 2 PhD. Geologist. Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), Brazil. Foundation Technological Center of Minas Gerais (CETEC-MG), Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

Paper originally published in Portuguese, at:

VASCONCELOS, V.V. MARTINS JUNIOR, P.P. A Teleologia e o Estudo das Cincias da Natureza Contribuies da Filosofia. AMBIENTE & EDUCAO: Revista de Educao Ambiental. Vol. 16(1), 2011. Available at: http://www.seer.furg.br/ambeduc/article/view/1676/1199

Proofreading of the English version by Carolina Dias, in February, 2013

TELEOLOGY AND THE INVESTIGATION OF NATURAL SCIENCES PHILOSOPHICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Vitor Vieira Vasconcelos* Paulo Pereira Martins Junior**

ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the theme of Teleology, as it has been used through the history of human thought, especially since the development of the scientific theories about Nature. It begins with most current definitions of Teleology and their uses. Then, the historical background comes into consideration, by starting with Aristotles teleological (or finalistic) explanation, to the incorporation of teleological approach in early and Christian thought of the Middle Ages. Kants and Hegels perspectives of teleology, in Modern Age, are briefly revised. Finally, a study of the philosophical teleological approach in human and social sciences Epistemology was focused in Marxs, Webers and Habermas ideas. The paper ends with a proposition of arguments about how these themes are relevant for the Environmental Science, wherein the study of Physics, Biology and Human systems are practiced with nuances and uses of teleological concepts. Key Words: Teleology, Philosophy of Nature, Sciences of Nature, Causality, 1 Environmental Sciences

1* Legislative Consultant of Environment and Sustainable Management at the Legislative Power of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. PhD. student in Geology. Master of Arts in Geography. Specialist in Soil and Environment. Bachelor in Philosophy. Environmental Technician. Computer Science Technician. ** PhD. Geologist. Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), Brazil. Foundation Technological Center of Minas Gerais (CETEC-MG), Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

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A Teleologia e o Estudo das Cincias da Natureza Contribuies da Filosofia RESUMO

Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar como a temtica da Teleologia foi tratada no decorrer da histria do pensamento humano, em especial no intercurso relacionado ao desenvolvimento das teorias cientficas referentes ao estudo da Natureza. Inicia-se por uma reflexo a partir das definies correntes sobre o significado e uso do conceito Teleologia. Em seguida, abordada uma contextualizao histrica, partindo da explicao teleolgica ou finalista de Aristteles, passando pela incorporao desta perspectiva teleolgica dentro do pensamento cristo medieval. Na modernidade sero retomados os tratos da Teleologia empreendidos pela filosofia kantiana e hegeliana. Por fim, apresentase um estudo da abordagem teleolgica na Filosofia das cincias humanas e sociais, na qual tm foco o pensamento de K. Marx, M. Weber e J. Habermas. Finda-se o artigo com uma reflexo sobre como os temas tratados so pertinentes dentro da rea de estudos das cincias ambientais, em que so tratados sistemas fsicos, biolgicos e humanos, com as diversas nuances e utilizaes de conceitos teleolgicos. Palavras-Chave: Teleologia, Filosofia da Natureza, Cincias da Natureza, Causalidade, Cincias Ambientais

THE CONCEPT OF TELEOLOGY2 The concept of Teleology comes from two Greek words: telos (aim, goal, purpose) and logos (reason, explanation). Therefore, Teleology could be understood as the explanation or reason of something regarding its purposes or explanation which draws upon purposes or goals (VILLA, 2000, p. 723). In synthesis, the concept or idea of Teleology may be defined as the study of the aims or functions of things (BLACKBURN, 1997, p. 376). On the scope of a theoretical system or worldview, Teleology can be stated as the philosophical

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doctrine that all of Nature, or at least intentional agents, are goaldirected or functionally organized (AUDI, 1995, p. 791). If we include the notion that these purposes must be pursued through processes (here denominated means), we may propose a third definition, in which teleology means Doctrine which considers the world as a system of relations between means and purposes (FERREIRA, 1986, p. 1658). This viewpoint of concatenated events in relation to a purpose may be defined within the following conception:
when we say that an event is teleological regarding a framework of reference, it means that there is a tendency, propensity, etc., in this framework biased to develop specific types of structures that [] will take place provided that some variables remain constant; and with respect to these structures, this event is a phase, stage or moment of their development. (VILLA, 2000, p. 723).3

The entry for Teleology, in the Dictionary of Contemporary Thought, presents a more detailed explanation, seeking the ontological assumptions which would sustain a teleological explanation or doctrine. The entry explains that, when an event or process is stated as teleological, it implies that (1) we admit that the case study is not random or that the current framework or structure which the object appears in, is not the result of random processes and events; (2) we admit that there is an aim, goal or purpose which is the reason,

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explanation or direction of an event and this may be (2-a) immanent, with the finality being admitted in the core, or essence, of each being or set of beings; (2b) transcendent of the whole being, as a reason behind the world (VILLA, 2000, p. 723-725).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Aristotle [384-322 a.C.], in his Metaphysics, listed several types of explanations on the world processes. These types of explanations correspond to four types of causes. Recollecting his text:

Actually, cause may be used in four meanings: in the first, we understood that the cause is the substance or quiddity4 (the reason, therefore, leads back to the ultimate notion, and the first reason is both cause and principle); the second [cause] is the matter and subject5; the third is where movement [comes from] 6; the fourth, which opposes itself to the third one, is the end for what 7 and the goodness (because this is indeed the finality of all genesis and motion) (ARISTOTLE, I, 3, 983 25-32, [1993]).

Respectively, there are: 1st formal cause; 2nd material cause; 3rd efficient cause. As the fourth and last causal type, we have the teleological or finalist explanation, which explains the purpose (or
4
5

Essence Or substratum, as an alternative translation

6 7

Or change, in a more general meaning Finality

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goal) that an event or being is predestined to (VILLA, 2000, p. 724). On this explanation, Aristotle asserts that all things trend naturally to a purpose. In other words, this means that the teleological notion of reality makes it possible to explain the Nature (end or goal) of all beings (ALMEIDA, 2006). On this conception, the teleological notion of Aristotle refers to the essence of each being, i.e., to an internal teleology of the natural entities (AUDI, 1995, p. 791). The final cause makes the object move and even change, seeking its perfection. And this perfection will just be reached in the extent that the object accomplishes the function for which it was designed in essence. The same conception is applied to Ethics (BLACKBURN, 1997), like in the work Nicomachean Ethics, where Aristotle proposes that the human beings have the intrinsic finality of seeking their own happiness. However, what seemed to refer only to a teleology internal to beings gets the outline of a totalizing teleology, when Aristotle writes on the first universal cause and on how this cause is regarded both as the first efficient cause and as the first final cause. The Aristotelian sequence of reasoning (Physics, 242a 50-54, apud LOMBARDI, 1997, p. 65) is the following:

1) The world is dynamic only because of the motion of shapes, which is due to the effects of the causes. 2) Thus, an object causes a change in another object, which causes another change in a third object, and so forth.

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3) When a causal chain is investigated, at the end there is no option but postulating that there was an original first cause, which gave the first causal impact from which all the other movements and changes in the world have originated. Aristotle denominates this original cause as the First Immobile Mover. However, in this passage, Aristotle refers to a series of efficient causes, the rationale would be applied for all the other causal types, thus proving that any causal series may not be infinite (cf. Metafsica 994a 1-11 apud LOMBARDI, 1997, p. 65). The First Immobile Mover is identified as God by analogy, who is also the pure perfection and the supreme goodness, to whom all other beings try to get close through the final cause. Thus, on the one hand it explains the becoming of the world by a series of physical movements (efficient causal model). And on the other hand, it explains the becoming of the world as the beings desire for returning to the original perfection (final causal model). Therefore, each entity with its own final cause in essence refers to an outstanding perfect finality. Following this historical introduction on teleology, the heyday of the Greek philosophy and culture gives rise to the hegemony of the Roman Empire. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the remaining of the Greek-Roman knowledge was preserved by the Christian and Islamic-Arabic cultures which used classical ideas and theories, in their own ways. However, due to the religious background, they tended to interpret that knowledge (including the knowledge regarding Nature) through a teleological approach. For medieval religious people, the destine of human beings and the world was on Gods
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hands. Thus, the only thing believer could do was to learn how to understand and accept Gods will. That is, philosophy and science were ultimately subordinated to faith the docket natura et gratia of Aquinus [1224-1274 AD]. Nature, indeed, will be taken into account as a place for the signals that God sends to mankind signals which show the greatness of God. The correct understanding of Nature and mankind would not be through the observation of the world. Instead, this understanding would come through the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, which would teach about the meaning of Gods will and, consequently, of all Nature created. Thus, it makes sense to recognize a transcendent teleological interpretation of the world during the medieval ages, as there was the perception that the phenomena and the entities would fit within the objectives designed by God for the fate of His creation (ALMEIDA, 2006, top. 2). The Christian teleological worldview was highly compatible with the teleological interpretation that the world would reach, through the ages, an increasing improvement or perfection. For the Christian thought, the world converges, over time and by means of the divine laws, to the perfection ideal devised by God. And even after the medieval ages, to the present days, this worldview of a cosmic teleology, with Christian outlines, has markedly influenced many interpretations, theological or not, for which the universe, Nature and/or humanity are regarded as tending to a progress towards an increasing perfection or towards some goal or finalist ideal. This influence has been more evident in popular beliefs, philosophical

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doctrines and even theories with scientific pretensions (MAYR, 2005, p. 56 and 57). Following, in the transition from Medieval to Modern Ages, an intellectual trend will rise, claiming more place and merit for free thinking and for the knowledge that is validated and/or acquired by human reason. This trend will be present as much in philosophy as in the development of science and, often, on both of them in a conjoined manner (as with Descartes [1596-1650 AD]); even if, in the beginning, these thought systems would not directly oppose the Christian doctrine. However, progressively, the thinkers and scientists started to seriously disagree with some Christian dogmas, as in the famous case of Galileo Galilei [1564-1642 AD] and the proposal of the heliocentric theory. Thereby, the Modern Age thought broadly proposed a new knowledge methodology. Theories and statements about the world should be strictly based on the observation of empirical phenomena and submitted to logical and mathematical reasoning. Suppositions which were not sustained on these criteria should be questioned. In this way, Galileo and Descartes eliminated the Aristotelian final cause from science (and thus, they also eliminated the models based on immanent or transcendent teleology) (ALMEIDA, 2006, p. 3). Descartes stated that, for science, just the efficient cause remains (models of explanation based strictly on cause and effect), whereas the inquiring into the final cause regarding each being or the whole universe should be relegated to theologians. Moreover, ascribing willpower and purpose to the matter would be imputing to the
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substratum, attributes which are specific to the subjectivity (soul), and that would not conform to the scientific method. Afterwards, still in the Modern Age, another important thinker would make his mark on the way to deal with the teleological reasoning, both in sciences and in philosophy: Immanuel Kant [17241804 AD]. Kant, in his Critique of Pure Reason, ascribe the causality judgment (cause and effect), but not the teleological judgment, as a Category of Understanding (or Pure Concept of Understanding), acquired synthetically a priori, thus, valid for building knowledge (KANT, [1709] 1994). Nevertheless, Kant would reflect more upon the Teleological Judgment in his later work Critique of the Power of Judgment. Kant acknowledges that, in the sciences based on empirical observation, there are several laws, patterns and regular behaviors which are not analytically built based on the a priori laws of understanding. To ensure that these empirical laws are necessary, Kant uses the reflecting judgment. The reflecting judgment is comparable to the scientific induction, [] goes from the particular diversity of laws to a transcendental unifying principle (PASCAL, 2001). This ideal of systematic organization leads to consider the existence of a higher purpose, enabling to understand Nature as a unified experience (NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, 2001, p. 271). For Pascal (2001), commentator of Kants works, such reasoning leads this philosopher to recognize the need for a purpose sense which encompasses all Nature (and, indeed, it would be responsible for the

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harmony observable in the natural world). It is what Pascal (2001) exposes here:

Undoubtedly, the particular laws of Nature work through a pure engine. However, the purpose is indispensable in order to understand a system built from these laws. For someone who wants to understand Nature, everything happens as if Nature has been designed by a divine intelligence. The idea of purpose is, thus, a regulative but not constitutive a priori concept: by this concept, Nature is represented as if an understanding contained the ground of the unity of the manifold of its empirical laws. (Kant, Critique of the Power of Judgment, [1790], p. 20 apud Pascal, 2001, chapter Critique of the Power of Judgment).

It is noteworthy that this purpose idea, ascribed to the natural world, is only a regulative principle, without means to be proved a priori through our cognitive apparatus. Nonetheless, there is still the need to use this purpose idea to solve knowledge practical issues. It is important to be aware that the purpose idea is an assumption, but not an imputation to the objects. Instead of stating that such purpose actually exists, the best would be to state that everything works as if there was such purpose (PASCAL, 2001). In these terms, the thesis that there could never be a Newton of the Grass Stalks becomes coherent, because Physics, built on pure concepts of a priori understanding, would have a higher degree of certainty when compared to some knowledge corpus which would
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need the assumption of a regulative teleological principle (for example, as it is necessary to assume that the grass has the purpose of its own growth). Kant emphasizes that care:
This transcendental concept of a finality of Nature is neither a concept of Nature nor of freedom, since it attributes nothing at all to the object, i.e., to Nature, but only represents the unique mode in which we must proceed in our reflection upon the objects of Nature with a view to getting a thoroughly interconnected whole of experience, and so it is a subjective principle, i.e., maxim, of judgment. (Kant, Critique of the Power of Judgment, [1790], p. 24, apud Pascal, 2001, chapter Critique of the Power of Judgment)

The teleological judgment has a paramount importance in the works of Kant, since only through such concept Kant will be able to mediate the natural causality with the moral purpose principles. Ultimately, the teleological judgment will move from the idea of internal harmony of the transcendental subject (regarding the subjective mental faculties, which are the presupposition of the esthetical judgment), to the idea of a harmony which resides in Nature itself. In order to ascribe a purpose for a Nature object, it is necessary that such object would be the cause of itself, in a way that the nexus of the parts is set in such a way that each part appears to be determined by the whole being; and the whole being, in its turn, would only appear to be possible due to its parts (PASCAL, 2001). The main examples of such objects are the organic beings, which organize

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themselves and, in a broader context, constitute together a higher harmony that is the natural environment. Kant exemplifies: An

organized product, in Nature, is something in which everything is purpose and mean, reciprocally; in such product, there is nothing useless, nothing aimless, or due to a blind natural mechanism (KANT [1790], apud PASCAL, 2001). Consequently, Kant defines two methods to investigate Nature. The first one is the discursive knowledge based on the efficient causes and, thus, on the causal determinism, whose example is the Physics. The second one is an intuitive way of understanding, which initiates assuming purposes in a living being, or even in Nature as an organic whole, to, afterwards, investigate its parts. The following passage exposes that methodological duality:
Therefore, while our discursive knowledge cannot understand Nature except for the additions of parts, the intuitive approach would directly apprehend Nature as a whole. The intuitive approach apprehends the whole before the parts and, thus, would understand the parts through purposes in relation to the whole. Through the intuitive approach, the subject tries to understand Nature under the principle of purpose. Moreover, one must not forget that Nature, as we know it, is just a phenomenon, through which our senses feel a reality that is actually not directly accessible. Our cognitive faculties understand this phenomenon in mechanical terms; which does not mean, though, that the reality underlying this phenomenon cannot organize itself teleologically. (PASCAL, 2001).

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The teleological judgment, as previously exposed, is anchored in the reflecting judgment and is essential for the study of vital phenomena. Although it is not possible to apply the teleological judgment with the strong rigor of an efficient cause, like in Physics, the teleological judgment shall be a guideline for the Nature scientists, in order to enable them to understand the living beings and the natural environment. This hypothetically intuitive understanding, from the whole to the parts, is what leads the Nature scientists to presuppositions such as:

(1) Nature chooses the shortest way, (2) Nature does not leap, (3) in Nature there is just a small number of types of causal interaction, (4) Nature presents an understandable subordination of species in genera, (5) in Nature it is possible to aggregate species into progressively higher genera. (NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, 2001, p. 271)

In addition, there is also the presupposition of intrinsic harmony among the living beings and, accordingly, the purpose, accredited to these systems, of maintaining such harmony. Furthermore, PASCAL (2001) reiterates that the teleological judgment is only a supposition, and its application limit is to never conflict with the deterministic mechanical knowledge of the world. The teleological and the mechanical knowledge shall not be mutually contradictory. The teleological approach is a guide and a complement to the causal knowledge, as Georges Pascal emphasizes:
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The mechanistic explanation shall be conducted as far as possible, because only the phenomena susceptible to this kind of explanation will constitute truly objects of knowledge. Though, when the mechanical explanation seems to be insufficient, the teleological explanation could, and even should, be applied, but without the supposition that it provides knowledge stricto sensu. These considerations are valid both for beings which are found within Nature, as to Nature considered as a whole. (PASCAL, 2001)

Briefly, it is worthwhile to expose Hegel [1770-1831 AD] thoughts, as they have much to do with the appliance of teleology. Hegel proposes a broad philosophical system in which the world, as the Spirit, would be in a continuous historical process of gradually higher rationality and perfection. Therefore, the Hegelian thought system introduces, consistently, the idea of an internal purpose in Nature, associated to transformation, change and progress. Nature is real, but provisional, as a current which flows, within itself, towards the Spirit.(NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, 2001, p. 273). The teleology proposed by Hegel would be explicit both in the analysis of the universal whole, and in the several processes and evolutions that comprise this whole. This teleology would happen through the dialectical method, in which the opposing trends (thesis and antithesis) collide resulting in a synthesis. The synthesis is, essentially, more perfect and complete than the thesis and the antithesis. Hegel has the virtue of creating a new trend in Philosophy:
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the trend of approaching the most diverse topics via an inquiry on their genesis throughout history. The Hegelian thought has a strong influence in science and in the world views after that period, as the historical approach on Nature, life and human spirit introduces new concepts in the cosmology of the XIX century and points towards considering Nature and life, not anymore through Mechanical Physics of the XVIII century, but through Evolutionary Biology of the XIX century (NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, 2001, p. 273). In his philosophical system, Hegel addresses the physical world, the animals and humanity in an evolutionary approach, respectively, in which the Spirit gains a progressive consciousness of itself. This evolution of the Spirit is also conjugated with the teleological approach, which turns to be more explicit, as shown in this comment:
In Nature, the rock is the subject while it resists (time, pickax, etc.), but it does not have a history, neither an inner purpose. The plant (seed, flower, whole vegetable being), on the contrary, in addition to resisting the environment, has an internal history (its development) without, though, being able to think about its own purpose. The human beings, however, (children, adults, literate, rational) are thinkers of their own inner purposes and, being rational, are able to preserve themselves, while in the previous stages the subject only conserves itself. Thus, the higher form of development is freedom. In this context, for Hegel, being a complete being means being free, eternal. (NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, 2001, p. 272).

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TELEOLOGY IN HUMAN SCIENCES

The teleological explanation will be of special importance in the Philosophy of Human Sciences. This importance lies in the consensus on conceiving the human being as a being who seeks for particular ideals and goals and, for such, articulates its own thoughts and actions (MAYR, 2005, p. 75). This teleological Nature of the human being can be verified individually by each person, in their subjective living experience and, also, in the obvious acknowledgment of human teleological Nature through the analysis of human discourses, from the ordinary to the deepest ones. In effect, what else is the whole set of technical theories, but a description of how to reach specific goals? And even the moral theory, what is more than a theorization about the ultimate purposes of human life and how to proceed in order to better achieve such purposes? One shall take into account all the inquiry endeavors regarding the individuals and society through strict empirical observations proceeded with causal explanation approaches, as intended by Durkheim [1859-1917 AD], the neoempirists of the Vienna Circle8, behavioral psychology9 and social sciences with quantitative methodologies. However, even recognizing that these areas of scientific investigation obtained useful progresses, it is still patent that the universe of experience of human beings is much broader than a
8

As in its exponents Moritz Schlick [1882-1936 AD] and Rudolf Carnap [1891-1970 AD]. 9 School initiated by John Broadus Watson [1878-1958 AD].
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simply chain of causal effects. The rough cut of all teleological explanations would reduce a lot the amount of accessible information about the human world, also reducing the usefulness of the human sciences and, furthermore, reducing the conception of what is a human being, as long the subjectivity is being cut too. The approach of Marx [1818-1883 AD] on the teleology implicit in the human nature is also useful to this topic. In his classical illustrative example, in Capital, Marx compares the activity of the bees, while building the honeycomb, with the work of a foreman building a house. Even with the highest perfection of the honeycomb construction, and even with the many limitations that the foreman may have, this last one has something essentially specific: the foreman imagines the work that he will perform, constructing a purpose, an ideal moment, which will be pursued through work (CARLEAL, 2001, p. 80). Thus, Marx postulates the existence of a conscious teleological attribution, exclusive of the human condition. Considering this formulation of the work as teleology in a historical perspective, the result is that:
for animals, history happens, but they do not elaborate their own historical project (they are, therefore, alienated beings). Thus, animals would not be the purpose of their own history. Humankind, in its turn, every time that advances further away from the animal kingdom, advances more in the construction of its own history, becoming subjects (NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, 2000, p. 124).

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Jos Chasin has also studied about work and its teleological aspect in his research about Marxs ontological assumptions and its respective methodological definition (CHASIN, 1995). In accordance with his interpretation, first it is necessary to recognize the explicit ontological dimension of the Marxian theory, which defines human beings as active beings, whereas the role of objects takes place in the context of the sensitive activity of humans. With the notion of sensitive activity, it is possible to understand subjectivity as a possibility of being something in the world and objectivity as the range of possibilities, [] tolerating subjective forms in the limit of its plasticity (CHASIN, 1995, p. 398). Human activity, such as work, will build the link between subject and object, enabling the effectuation and confirmation of both in the surrounding world. Besides the ability of devising their own goals, human beings are also able to observe the sensitive objectivity and understand its operation. Thus, human beings will be able to put at their service [] the specific logic of a specific object, the lawfulness of the causal mesh of the primary material substrata (CHASIN, 1995, p. 399). Therefore, based on the ontological assumptions of work, Marx succeeds in conjugating a complex that, while uniting subject and object, also articulates the use of human cognitive faculties and of actions oriented to purposes: the practice implies, brings embedded in itself, indissolubly, [] the proponent subjectivity teleology , and the receptive subjectivity the cognitive ability (CHASIN, 1995, p. 399).

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According to Marx, the role of teleological activity of human labor will not be only transforming the object. Such activity occurs within a social environment and, in the meantime, the product of human action transforms this social environment in which the own human being is formed. The social objectivity is updated by humans sensitive activity, acting as subjects. Hence, they are social beings [] as builders of themselves and of their world (CHASIN, 1995, p. 397). The human way of being, in its turn, is generated, conformed and confronted to its socio-historical condition, in a way that humans, while developing their material production and their material intercourse, also change, in addition to their reality, their way of thinking and the products of their thoughts (CHASIN, 1995, p. 407). Therefore, in their conscious activity, from their needs of emotions and knowledge, the human beings create an ideation, an action plan that can transform the complex-object, creating a structure which will be the base to build their own subjectivity: humans subjectivity and objectivity are the products of humans selfconstructiveness, due to the overcoming of their naturalness (CHASIN, 1995, p. 392). Another important philosopher to study the human teleology is Habermas [1929AD- ]. Habermas understands human activity and thought from a pragmatic-linguistic perspective. In his philosophical system, he uses the concepts of goals and means, which requires a brief explanation about how Max Weber [1864-1920 d.C.] first came up with these concepts. Weber, in his works on social sciences defines the ultimate goals that an individual pursues as a choice of an active
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human, a personal issue of someones private life (WEBER, [1904] 1993, p. 110). The choice for these goals would not be possible to be rationally analyzed, since it refers to values, which cannot be compared among themselves. But this does not mean that science and human rationality are not useful, since when the goals are established, science may act in several ways, such as:

a. Helping active humans to be aware of their ultimate goals, comprising the conceptual and logical analysis of their established goals. Weber reiterates that one of the essential tasks of every science of human cultural life has actually been, since the beginning, a clear presentation of their ideas, in order to understand them and also to know why they should be striven for (WEBER, [1904] 1993, p. 110). Thus, science may perform a formal-logical evaluation of the content which is presented on value judgment and historically given ideas, and an evaluation of ideals, regarding the assumption of no inner contradiction of what is being desired (WEBER, [1904] 1993, p. 110). b. Establishing which means would be appropriate or not to certain proposed goals (WEBER, [1904] 1993, p. 109). c. Verifying and proving what would be the consequences of applying the required means (WEBER, [1904] 1993, p. 109). d. Helping to clarify the cost of reaching the desired goal, in terms of the foreseeable losses of not reaching other goals (WEBER, [1904] 1993, p. 110).

Thereby, the main role of Science and rationality is trying to understand the means. By reflecting on the means, it is possible to
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think on how the world works and which are the alternatives of action. The reflection on the means provides the human beings with the way that seems to be the most propitious to achieve their desired aims. Going ahead with Weber propositions, regarding the human action based on the use of reason on the required means to reach the goals, Habermas divides the human action in two different groups: [1] Instrumental action, characterized by the relationship between subject and object, as effective manipulation, domination and control over reality or the objective world, conducted only by technical rules based on empirical knowledge (BONFIM, 2002, p. 5). [2] Strategic action, characterized by the correct evaluation of alternatives and choices of means of manipulation, domination and control, organized by the instrumental action, or, in addition, the influence among social actors regarding goals of domination (BONFIM, 2002, p. 5). This influence on other actors, in the strategic action, may happen by means of weapons, goods, intimidation, seduction, rhetoric, etc. (HABERMAS, 2003, p. 164). These two categories of action constitute together the rational-purposive action (BONFIM, 2002, p. 5). These individual goals were previously defined by the subject, whereas reason is used just to define the most appropriate mean to achieve the goal. Even in any cooperation, each individual is only interested in what he or she may obtain individually from that joint action (HABERMAS, 2003, p. 164-165). Nonetheless, unlike Weber, Habermas is in favor of the rational discussion of the goals which drive humans, through intelligible arguments with pretension to validity and justification
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(BERTEN, 2004, p. 72-73). This kind of discussion is found in the actual use of language (BERTEN, 2004, p. 73), for example, in political, legal, moral and etiquette discussions (BONFIM, 2002, p. 5). This possibility of a rational discussion of goals may lead to a social action based on consensus, denominated as communicative action (HABERMAS, 2004, p. 165). Habermas proposes that the society should move progressively from the strategic action to the communicative action. In this way, people may reach a social practice in which the individuals rationally discuss about the goals to seek, setting and reformulating the goals intersubjectively, towards a harmonic point of interests and action plans. In this kind of action, the orientation is no longer exclusive to the individual success, becoming oriented to mutual agreements. The communicative action assumes a fundamental role in the Habermasian philosophical theory, because:

where the thelos (ultimate goal or objective) of understanding lies, under the aegis of language ( die Sprache), is where the process of obtaining knowledge (Verstand) occurs, from the consensus among the interactively and linguistically competent subjectivities.

Thereby, for Habermas, communicative reason is the category which structures the human social system (BONFIM, 2002, p. 5).

Although both types of teleological orientation (rationalpurposive action and communicative action) have the mark of human rationality, the major difference between them is that, in the rationalpurposive action, the definition of the goals does not interact with
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other subjects and their own arguments and purposes; whereas in the communicative action there is the possibility of dialogue about the goals. In this dialogue, the subjects think together about which are the best goals to be pursued by the social group. The communicative action, as a facilitator of the action coordination, enables the mutual agreement. Thereby, it will be the basis for the defense of democracy, in the political scene, and for the consensus on the fundamental human rights. In the same way, it will help in the criticism of repression, censorship and other actions that hamper the dialogue within the society. (BERTEN, 2004) FINAL THOUGHTS CONTRIBUTION OF PHILOSOPHY REGARDING SCIENCES TELEOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENTAL

Ecology, like the other Environmental Sciences, studies the physical and biotic environments together, as well as their interaction with human beings, with the goal of maintaining the processes which enable the survival of the living beings. During these studies, the scientist generally employs several concepts with a teleological background, which involves the different shades of meaning investigated in this paper. The aim of this paper was to contribute to help the Natural Science researchers in increasing their sensitivity to teleological aspects which are pertinent to their researches. In this context, the investigated topics in this paper may be useful for the researches of
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many environmental sciences. The Aristotelian classification of the four causes, specially the efficient and final causes, is the first epistemological scrutiny, as its elicitation in the environmental studies may largely contribute to clarify the investigative structures. When there is no such awareness, the division between causal systems that are strictly causal and the ones that are teleological may go unnoticed. This is specially the case in the studies of ecosystems, where the emergence of teleology occurs through scales of evolution and complexity that are not always clear and definite. For example, the functioning of a bacterium or another cell organism may be explained almost only based on strict chemical causal reasonings. On the other hand, when dealing with more complex animals (like intelligent mammals), issues such as purpose, thought and behavior become increasingly patent. Another controversial theoretical point is about the causal explanation applied to systems of living beings (communities, populations, ecosystems, biota, etc.). In such cases, it is usual to state that a group of living beings interacts in favor of their survival, even when there is not the assumption of a unique (transcendental) consciousness behind the teleological system. Regarding this topic, it may be useful to recall the Kantian discussions on the way human beings perceive Nature as a system that tends to its own harmony. In these discussions, besides recognizing the finalist aspect of Nature, Kant was cautiously concerned about defining the limits of the finalist explanation in its relation with the strict causal studies and conclusions of empirical knowledge.
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The Kantian discussion in his work Critique the Judgment (KANT, 1781) finds a fruitful topicality in the contemporary scene of environmental sciences. The Kantian Theorization of a dual method for the investigation of nature, encompassing the reflective judgment (intuitive observation of nature) complementary to the causal determinism (empirical experimentation in Physics, with the use of abstract categories) may be applied to the scientific contemporary scene, leading to a possible complementarity between the geosciences with systemic approach and the quantitative geosciences. The geosciences with systemic approach (linked deeper to the reflective judgment) care more for the perception of the interaction among elements in dynamic and complex studies, based on presupposition that Kant ascribed to nature (teleology, unity, harmony, among others) by means of the reflective judgment. The quantitative geosciences, in their turn, may be benefited from their great technical capability of aggregating primary data and establishing patterns based on these data. Mirroring the dual method of investigation proposed by Kant, the environmental geosciences have a lot to gain with the conjugation between systemic and quantitative approaches since while the systemic approach may provide a general frame for the proposal of hypotheses, the quantitative geosciences attempts to prove whether the hypotheses are valid or not, facing them with actual empirical data. It is also interesting to elicit how the Kantian theorization can be interlinked with the thermodynamics approach. In

thermodynamics, as shown in entropy and information analysis, information and entropy increase while the systems develop. When a
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system reaches the threshold of a new internal order, something occurs as if the system is inexorably drained to this new order. Thus, it produces a teleological effect, a destiny, an imperative route in order to maintain this new order. In the Theory of Self-Organization, when analyzing a chaotic event through time series, the variables of a system may go into a way that configures, over a time plot, a figure denominated strange attractor. Also, Hegels contributions should not go unnoticed, because using the history of the investigated causal phenomena is important in whatever comprehensive environmental study. In this point, the researcher usually faces the lack of structure for collecting historical environmental data, in the most diverse fields. This lack critically hampers the reconstruction of past scenarios, which would be important to identify the changes in relation to the present scenario. This comparison with past scenarios is, indeed, a condition for the reliability of any environmental prediction model. Lastly, the teleological aspect that has been most taken for granted in the environmental studies is the study of human purposes. This becomes a crucial problem, as the interaction of humankind and the environment gains increasing importance in many environmental studies. The emergence of themes like human ecology and social ecology is a confirmation of such trend. Nonetheless, many environmental researchers graduated in fields like Biology, Nature Sciences and Exact Sciences, and thus had no access to the scientific heritage regarding the research of humanity, as well as the way to deal with its teleological aspects. Accounting humankind just as a biologic
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being, within conventional ecological studies, is the same as disregarding several studies and contributions undertaken by human sciences. As discussed in this paper, useful starting points to interpret the human beings as social beings and rational, purposive beings, in relation to their environment, are: [1] the need to understand human beings through their goals to change the world and themselves, as studied in Marx; [2] the rational reasoning on goals discussed by Weber, also considering the phenomenon of participatory

communication proposed by Habermas.

REFERENCES ALMEIDA, A. de. Filosofia e Cincias da Natureza: alguns elementos histricos. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Cincias Humanas. Available at: http://www.cfh.ufsc.br/~wfil/aires.htm Access on: 24, jun. 2006 ARISTTELES. Metafsica. Trad. por Vincenzo Cocco e notas de Joaquim de Carvalho. So Paulo: Abril Cultural, 1993. (Col. Os Pensadores). AUDI, R. (Editor). The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. Ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, USA, 1995. BLACKBURN, S. Dicionrio Oxford de Filosofia. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Jorge Zahar Ltda, 1997. BERTEN, A. Filosofia Social: a responsabilidade social do filsofo. Trad. Mrcio Anatole de Souza Romeiro, So Paulo: Ed. Paulus. (Coleo Filosofia), 2004. BONFIM, A. C. F. Habermas: Trabalho, Linguagem e Forma de Vida Humana. Associao Nacional de Ps-Graduao e Pesquisa em Educao, 25 reunio anual, 2002. Available at: www.anped.org.br/25/ Access on: jun. 2006.
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CARLEIAL, L. M. da F. Cincia Econmica e Trabalho. In: Revista da Faculdade de Direito da UFPR, v.36, p. 73-85, 2001. CHASIN, J. Marx - Estatuto Ontolgico e Resoluo Metodolgica . So Paulo: Ensaio, 1995 FERREIRA, A. B. de H. Novo Dicionrio Aurlio da Lngua Portuguesa 2 edio revisada e ampliada. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Nova Fronteira, 1986. HABERMAS, J. Conscincia Moral e Agir Comunicativo: Sobre a Estrutura de Perspectivas do Agir Orientado para o Entendimento Mtuo. Rio de Janeiro: Tempo Brasileiro, 2003. KANT, Immanuel. Critique of Judgment. (1781) Nicholas Walker (Editor) and James Creed Meredith (Translator). Oxford University Press. July 2, 2007. Paperback, 480 pages. KANT, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. (1790). Paul Guyer (Editor) and Allen W. Wood (Editor).. Cambridge University Press. February 1999. Paperback, 800 pages LOMBARDI, O. Comparacin entre la Fsica Aristotlica y la Mecnica Clssica: Algunos Problemas de Interpretacin. Revista Educacin en Cincias. Universidad Nacional de General San Martn, Buenos Aires v.I, n.3, p.62-70, 1997 MAYR, E. Biologia, Cincia nica. So Paulo: Ed. Companhia das Letras, 2005. NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, A. F. Fragmentos da Presena do Pensamento Idealista na Histria da Construo das Cincias da Natureza. Revista Cincia & Educao, v.7, n.2, p.265-285, 2001. NASCIMENTO JUNIOR, A. F. Fragmentos da Presena do Pensamento Dialtico na Histria da Construo das Cincias da Natureza. Revista Cincia & Educao, v. 6, n. 2, p. 119-139, 2000. PASCAL, G. O Pensamento de Kant. 4 edio. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Vozes, 2001. VILLA, M. M. (coord.). Dicionrio de Pensamento Contemporneo. So Paulo: Ed. Paulus, 2000.

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WEBER, Max. A 'objetividade' do conhecimento na Cincia Social e na Cincia Poltica. [1904].- In: Metodologia das Cincias Sociais, v. 1. So Paulo: Cortez, 1993.

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