The term Telos means that for which something is done or that toward

Question

The term  Telos  means that for which something is done or that toward which animate beings strive. Thus, an eye is for seeing, a walk for health, a house for shelter, and a book for reading. Little t teleology so conceived, though, mustn’t be confused with big t Teleology, according to which the whole of nature is either progressing, by virtue of some world-historical or cosmic force, toward some overarching purpose or is already the embodiment of some divine plan.

That teleology needn’t entail Teleology was evolutionary theory’s great insight. From the moment that organic life first appeared on Earth some 4.5 billion years ago, natural selection has been an inexorable, unceasing, and entirely mindless process of winnowing and sifting through a set of design plans. The geological record is littered with plant and animal species falling extinct under the pressures of climatic and geographical changes. Only those designs that natural selection has blindly hit upon and that have worked, designs that are well adapted to the specific environment and that therefore confer upon certain organisms or certain species some ostensible advantage, will be inheritable by their progeny. This implies that there is no Higher End, no Higher Purpose that governs the actions of intelligent and unintelligent life, only local purposes fitting into the materialist picture of “selfish genes” seeking to pass on genetic information to their descendants  ad infinitum . There is therefore no Teleology from on high, only teleology all the way down. And there is no more need for what Daniel Dennett has called the “mind-first” hypothesis either.

Nothing under the sun is exempt from the process of natural selection—not eyes or wings and certainly not minds. Thanks to research in evolutionary theory over the past 150 years, it is no longer mysterious how an ignorant, mindless machine, by means of chance, trial and error, and gradual modifications taking place over long swaths of time, could have produced sophisticated, cognizant machines able to reflect upon the process itself. What recommends the evolutionary story of the emergence of intelligent life is not just its plausibility; it is the fact, confirmed time and again by studies in geology, genetics, cell biology, zoology, and botany, that it is true.    1 
 1. According to the passage, the principal difference between teleology and Teleology could be understood in terms of the difference between

A. quality and quantity.
B. example and concept.
C.property and object.
D. cause and effect.
E. part and whole.

2 
 2. The primary purpose of the passage is to show how

A. new species come into being through a process called natural selection.
B. evolution represents a change in our comprehension of all forms of life.
C. natural selection shows us how evolution through a set of randomly generated, rather than intentional, procedures is possible.
D. intelligent and sentient creatures are the inevitable results of natural selection.
E. absolute ignorance works to create living beings much in the same way that absolute wisdom does.

3 
 3. Which of the following does the passage cite as being consistent with the theory of natural selection?

I. the plurality of species
II. the complex nature of some organisms
III. the evolution of sentience

A. I Only
B. III Only
C. I and III Only
D. II and III Only
E. I, II, and III

4 
 4. Based on the author’s statement that evolution has no need for the “mind-first” hypothesis, it can be inferred that

A. the first appearance of living things did not involve an intelligent being.
B. unintelligent beings necessarily follow from an intelligent being.
C. in human beings, mental life came before physical existence.
D. living beings had to have come from multicellular organisms.
E. experiments in ordering organic life finally yielded intelligent design.

5 
 5. Based on the passage, it can be inferred that the theory that all life on Earth was created as part of a divine plan would be an example of

I. teleology.
II. Teleology.
III. the idea that teleology may not require Teleology.

A. I Only
B. II Only
C. III Only
D. I and II Only
E. II and III Only

Kaplan GRE Premier 2014

shivermewhiskers · Answer

Here's my rationale for question 1:

The passage explains that:

teleology (small ‘t’) is about everyday purposes—like eyes being for seeing, or a book being for reading. These are local, natural functions that come from evolution. 
 Teleology (big ‘T’) is about a larger, cosmic or divine purpose that supposedly drives all of nature.

The main point of the passage is that teleology can exist without needing Teleology. Evolution explains the smaller purposes without needing to believe in a bigger plan behind everything.

Now looking at the options:
 A. quality and quantity  –  These are unrelated to the central conceptual difference in the passage.  Teleology vs. teleology isn’t about how much or how good, so this doesn't fit.  
 B. example and concept  –  This doesn't work because neither term is presented as an instance or example of the other.  The passage doesn't treat them as a hierarchy.  
 C. property and object  –   This kind of works best because both terms describe something similar (purpose), but on different levels.  You could say Teleology is like a "property" (a grand idea) and teleology is the "object" (how it shows up in real things). They're connected, but not dependent. So while a case can be made that object is a subset of property (object belongs to the property), the other way also works in that object is not a subset of property (what if the object doesn’t belong to the same property).   Let's hold onto this one 
 D. cause and effect  –  This would mean one leads to the other,  but the passage says the opposite—teleology doesn’t come from Teleology, so this is incorrect.
 E. part and whole  –  This would mean teleology is a smaller part of Teleology,  but the passage says teleology works on its own without being part of something bigger.

Final choice: C. property and object  – It’s the best match since both terms are related, but not in a cause-effect or part-whole way. They're different levels of describing purpose.

---
First time taking a crack at answering, folks—hope this helps! Show some love and drop a kudos if it made sense✨

utkarshs2402 · Answer

This was a really good passage. On the first read, it was difficult to make sense, but once we read the whole thing and refer to questions, then it started adding up for me. I got 1st and 3rd wrong. Can anyone help me with those two questions?
For Q1: I am absolutely in the dark. For Q3: I don't understand where it is mentioned about "plurality of species", although because of background knowledge, one could say I is correct, but how do I get it from this passage?

Tucky · Answer

You can infer Q3 statements 1 and 2 from the para-2 below. Just note the highlighted words:

The geological record is  littered with plant and animal species  falling extinct under the pressures of climatic and geographical changes. Only those designs that natural selection has blindly hit upon and that have worked,  designs that are well adapted to the specific environment  and that therefore  confer upon certain organisms or certain species some ostensible advantage , will be inheritable by their progeny.

gullyboy09 · Answer

Hi  Sajjad1994 , can you please post solutions for Q1 and Q3

guddo · Answer

1. According to the passage, the principal difference between teleology and Teleology could be understood in terms of the difference between

The passage defines teleology (little t) as “forness” in particular things, like an eye being for seeing. It contrasts that with Teleology (big T), which claims the whole of nature is moving toward, or already embodies, an overarching cosmic or divine purpose. The passage argues evolution supports local “forness” without any higher plan.

(A) quality and quantity.

Nothing in the passage is about a difference in degree or amount. The distinction is about what kind of claim is being made, not about “more vs less” of something.

(B) example and concept.

The first sentence gives examples of teleology, but the teleology vs Teleology contrast is not “examples vs concept.” Both are concepts, and the key contrast is where purpose is being attributed.

(C) property and object.

This fits the passage best. Little t teleology is treated as a  property  that particular things can have (being for seeing, for health, for shelter). Big T Teleology is the claim that an  object , namely the whole of nature, has an overarching purpose or plan. That matches the  principal difference  the author draws.  So (C) most logically captures the contrast.

(D) cause and effect.

The passage is not distinguishing two kinds of causal relations. It is distinguishing local purpose talk from a higher guiding purpose, so this is off target.

(E) part and whole.

This is tempting because big T talks about “the whole of nature,” but little t teleology is not “a part” in the relevant sense, it is a property that can apply to any particular thing. The passage’s contrast is more cleanly captured as purposefulness-as-a-property of particular items versus purpose attributed to nature-as-an-object.

Answer: (C)

guddo · Answer

3. Which of the following does the passage cite as being consistent with the theory of natural selection?

I. the plurality of species
II. the complex nature of some organisms
III. the evolution of sentience

A. I Only
B. III Only
C. I and III Only
D. II and III Only
E. I, II, and III

The passage says natural selection is a blind, mindless process that shapes living things over long time periods, producing locally “for” features (like eyes for seeing) without any overarching cosmic plan, and it can even produce minds.

I. the plurality of species

The passage explicitly talks about “plant and animal species” in the geological record and says it is “littered” with many species going extinct under different environmental pressures.  That is a direct appeal to there being many species across time , which is consistent with natural selection winnowing among many competing designs.  So I is cited as consistent.

II. the complex nature of some organisms

The passage explicitly includes complex biological structures (eyes and wings) as things subject to selection and says a mindless process can produce “sophisticated” organisms.  So II is cited as consistent.

III. the evolution of sentience

The passage explicitly says selection could produce “cognizant machines” that can reflect on the process itself and calls this the evolutionary story of the emergence of intelligent life.  So III is cited as consistent.

Answer: (E)

The term Telos means that for which something is done or that toward

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

The term Telos means that for which something is done or that toward

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards