Teleology

Teleology (from Greek telos, “end”), study of an action, event, or thing with reference to it's purpose or end. Plato and Aristotle argued that the purpose, perfection, and good of a thing, which Aristotle called its “final cause,” was the ultimate explanation of the thing. The teleological view of nature has declined since the rise of science. The teleological argument, or argument “from design,” argues that the order and perfection of nature requires the existence of a divine Creator who effected that order.