Chapter 8 - Teleology and natures in Descartes’ Sixth Meditation

Summary

This chapter presents aspects of Descartes' position on teleological explanations, human composites, and other living bodies. Alison Simmons argues that the form of teleology that we find in the case of mind-body composites in Descartes is natural teleology, and that this natural teleology does not interfere in the search for the efficient cause of the behaviors in question. Teleological thinking is sometimes thought to belong to one of two main strains what one might call natural teleology and unnatural teleology, with the former capturing a broadly Aristotelian approach and the latter capturing a broadly Platonic approach. Most versions of teleology that include Aristotelian elements also include Platonic elements. The chapter examines more closely the Sixth Meditation passage against the conceptual framework. In the Sixth Meditation passage, Descartes draws a metaphysical line between human composites on the one hand and purely material bodies on the other.