The purpose or aim of an action or the end towards which a thing naturally develops.
〔哲〕终极因，最终因
Example sentencesExamples
He does not attribute intentions to animals and plants, nor does he suppose that the final causes of their activities are what they themselves purpose.
Particularly at issue in the exegesis of Darwin's text was whether he considered natural selection to be an efficient cause, a final cause, a result of other causes, or a simple description of the working of several independent factors.
It cannot be the final cause since a final cause perfects a thing, but does not establish it in being, which is what the agent intellect does for the soul.
The four aspects are the formal cause, the material cause, the efficient cause, and the final cause.
Which means that Aristotle identified final causes with formal causes as far as living organisms are concerned.
Definition of final cause in US English:
final cause
nounˈfīnl kôz
Philosophy
The purpose or aim of an action or the end toward which a thing naturally develops.
〔哲〕终极因，最终因
Example sentencesExamples
He does not attribute intentions to animals and plants, nor does he suppose that the final causes of their activities are what they themselves purpose.
It cannot be the final cause since a final cause perfects a thing, but does not establish it in being, which is what the agent intellect does for the soul.
The four aspects are the formal cause, the material cause, the efficient cause, and the final cause.
Which means that Aristotle identified final causes with formal causes as far as living organisms are concerned.
Particularly at issue in the exegesis of Darwin's text was whether he considered natural selection to be an efficient cause, a final cause, a result of other causes, or a simple description of the working of several independent factors.