--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am drawn to a fourth alternative…" description: "\"“I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or teleological bias, as an account of the existence of the biological possibilities on which n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-nagel-9440_bias_i-am-drawn-to-a-fourth-alternative-natur_526645.jpg" --- # I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or… ![“I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or teleological bias, as an account of the existence of the biological possibilities on which natural selection can operate. I believe that teleology is a naturalistic alternative that is distinct from all three of the other candidate…” quote by Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-nagel-9440_bias_i-am-drawn-to-a-fourth-alternative-natur_526645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-nagel-9440_bias_i-am-drawn-to-a-fourth-alternative-natur_526645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/thomas-nagel-9440_bias_i-am-drawn-to-a-fourth-alternative-natur_526645.jpg) > ““I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or teleological bias, as an account of the existence of the biological possibilities on which natural selection can operate. I believe that teleology is a naturalistic alternative that is distinct from all three of the other candidate explanations: chance, creationism, and directionless physical law. To avoid the mistake that White finds in the hypothesis of nonintentional bias, teleology would have to be restrictive in what it makes likely, but without depending on intentions or motives. This would probably have to involve some conception of an increase in value through the expanded possibilities provided by the higher forms of organization toward which nature tends: not just any outcome could qualify as a telos. That would make value an explanatory end, but not one that is realized through the purposes or intentions of an agent. Teleology means that in addition to physical law of the familiar kind, there are other laws of nature that are "biased toward the marvelous".”” [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teleology can be a naturalistic, non‑intentional bias in evolution, distinct from chance or creationism. **In simple terms:** Nature may have built‑in directionality. Key Takeaway Consider non‑intentional bias. Themes teleology evolution natural law Mood analytical speculative Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - scientific theory - ethical frameworks - environmental policy - education Key Concepts philosophy of biology value theory Questions to Reflect On - How would you detect teleological bias? - Can value be explained without intention? A Different Perspective Bias may be hard to test empirically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bias/) [Cosmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmos/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Teleology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teleology/) ## Related quotes > [“In either case, natural teleology would mean that the universe is rationally governed in more than one way—not only through the universal quantitative laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/in-either-case-natural-teleology-would-mean-that-the-universe-is/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“In the discoveries of science the harmony of the spheres is also now the harmony of life. And as the eerie illumination of science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-denton/in-the-discoveries-of-science-the-harmony-of-the-spheres-is-also-now/) [Michael Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-denton/) > [“That which struck the present writer most forcibly on his first perusal of the 'Origin of Species' was the conviction that Teleology, as commonly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/that-which-struck-the-present-writer-most-forcibly-on-his-first/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [“Some form of natural teleology, a type of explanation whose intelligibility I briefly defended in the last chapter, would be an alternative to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/some-form-of-natural-teleology-a-type-of-explanation-whose/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“This is a throwback to the Aristotelian conception of nature, banished from the scene at the birth of modern science. But I have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/this-is-a-throwback-to-the-aristotelian-conception-of-nature-banished/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“It has turned out, in fact, to be far harder to translate teleological into non-teleological language than had been anticipated by philosophers; or at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-stove/it-has-turned-out-in-fact-to-be-far-harder-to-translate-teleological/) [David C. Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-c-stove/) > [Our culture is teleological-it presumes purposive development and a conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pfaff/our-culture-is-teleological-it-presumes-purposive-development-and-a/) [William Pfaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pfaff/) > [“Nor have any Darwinians ever given, to this day, any such reconciliation of their theory with the teleological language which they employ as freely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-stove/nor-have-any-darwinians-ever-given-to-this-day-any-such/) [David C. Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-c-stove/) > [I'm a teleological, existential agnostic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-m-a-teleological-existential-agnostic/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [These commonplace categories - wife, mother, housewife, teacher - are in fact teleological referents. They gesture to profound states of being that animate, absorb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/these-commonplace-categories-wife-mother-housewife-teacher-are-in/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [“Finally, when I finished rambling, he said, “Don, all relationships are teleological.” I asked him what the word teleological meant. “It means they’re going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/finally-when-i-finished-rambling-he-said-don-all-relationships-are/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Life is teleology par excellence; it is the intrinsic striving towards a goal, and the living organism is a system of directed aims which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/life-is-teleology-par-excellence-it-is-the-intrinsic-striving-towards/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Darwin's book is very important and serves me as a basis in natural science for the class struggle in history. One has to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/darwin-s-book-is-very-important-and-serves-me-as-a-basis-in-natural/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [In the beginning, there were no reasons; there were only causes. Nothing had a purpose, nothing has so much as a function; there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-the-beginning-there-were-no-reasons-there-were-only-causes-nothing/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [“According to Teleology, each organism is like a rifle bullet fired straight at a mark; according to Darwin , organisms are like grapeshot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/according-to-teleology-each-organism-is-like-a-rifle-bullet-fired/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) ## More by Thomas Nagel > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Reason is universal because no attempted challenge to its results can avoid appealing to reason in the end-by claiming, for example, that what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/reason-is-universal-because-no-attempted-challenge-to-its-results-can/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“A comprehensively reductive conception is favored by the belief that the propensity for the development of organisms with a subjective view must have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/a-comprehensively-reductive-conception-is-favored-by-the-belief-that/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [A theory of motivation is defective if it renders intelligible behaviour which is not intelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/a-theory-of-motivation-is-defective-if-it-renders-intelligible/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [It isn't just that I don't believe in God, and naturally, hope there is no God. I don't want there to be a God;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/it-isn-t-just-that-i-don-t-believe-in-god-and-naturally-hope-there-is/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [What is it like to be a bat? What is it like for a bat to be a bat?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-bat-what-is-it-like-for-a-bat-to-be-a-bat/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [To look for a single general theory of how to decide the right thing to do is like looking for a single theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/to-look-for-a-single-general-theory-of-how-to-decide-the-right-thing/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“In speaking of the fear of religion, I don’t mean to refer to the entirely reasonable hostility toward certain established religions and religious institutions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/in-speaking-of-the-fear-of-religion-i-don-t-mean-to-refer-to-the/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Philosophy is the childhood of the intellect, and a culture that tries to skip it will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/philosophy-is-the-childhood-of-the-intellect-and-a-culture-that-tries/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Common sense doesn't have the last word in ethics or anywhere else, but it has, as J. L. Austin said about ordinary language, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/common-sense-doesn-t-have-the-last-word-in-ethics-or-anywhere-else/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“The existence of consciousness is both one of the most familiar and one of the most astounding things about the world. No conception of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/the-existence-of-consciousness-is-both-one-of-the-most-familiar-and/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“Are there any alternatives? Well, there is the hypothesis that this universe is not unique, but that all possible universes exist, and we find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/are-there-any-alternatives-well-there-is-the-hypothesis-that-this/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [If we tried to rely entirely on reason, and pressed it hard, our lives and beliefs would collapse - a form of madness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/if-we-tried-to-rely-entirely-on-reason-and-pressed-it-hard-our-lives/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Eventually, I believe, current attempts to understand the mind by analogy with man-made computers that can perform superbly some of the same external tasks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/eventually-i-believe-current-attempts-to-understand-the-mind-by/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I woudl feel trapped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/if-i-thought-that-everything-i-did-was-determined-by-my-circumstancse/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) [Explore all 72 Thomas Nagel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) ## More Bias quotes > [The print is devised so that I can cut the dresses on the bias, so they work around the body. It's not like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galliano/the-print-is-devised-so-that-i-can-cut-the-dresses-on-the-bias-so/) [John Galliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galliano/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/fortunately-for-serious-minds-a-bias-recognized-is-a-bias-sterilized/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [I can say this very clearly: I have come into this Congress with an antiwar bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-frankel/i-can-say-this-very-clearly-i-have-come-into-this-congress-with-an/) [Lois Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-frankel/) > [The legal bias for special protection for women has begun to wreak havoc with the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/the-legal-bias-for-special-protection-for-women-has-begun-to-wreak/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [That's awesome. There's no bias in the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-edwards/that-s-awesome-there-s-no-bias-in-the-media/) [Carl Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-edwards/) > [“The most disgusting human trait is bias, because it typically leads to propaganda, hate and violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lifsey/the-most-disgusting-human-trait-is-bias-because-it-typically-leads-to/) [Lori Lifsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lifsey/) > [I'm speaking out against social media bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-loomer/i-m-speaking-out-against-social-media-bias/) [Laura Loomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-loomer/) > [“I pick up a copy of Newsweek on the plane and immediately notice how biased, slanted, and opinionated all the U.S. newsmagazine articles are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-pick-up-a-copy-of-newsweek-on-the-plane-and-immediately-notice-how/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [“Hundreds of studies confirm that human forecasts are flawed and biased. Human decision making is not so great either. Again to take just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-h-thaler/hundreds-of-studies-confirm-that-human-forecasts-are-flawed-and/) [Richard H. Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-h-thaler/) > [“Many journalists now are no more than channelers and echoers of what George Orwell called the 'official truth'. They simply cipher and transmit lies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pilger/many-journalists-now-are-no-more-than-channelers-and-echoers-of-what/) [John Pilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pilger/) > [The stance I took was there is no room for racial bias anywhere in sports. I believe that was basically all I said about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-larkin/the-stance-i-took-was-there-is-no-room-for-racial-bias-anywhere-in/) [Barry Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-larkin/) > [First and foremost, if you want to be a good writer, you need to be a good eater. You need to be fearless when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leong/first-and-foremost-if-you-want-to-be-a-good-writer-you-need-to-be-a/) [Melissa Leong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leong/) [Browse all 667 Bias quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bias/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or teleological bias, as an account of the existence of the biological possibilities on which natural selection can operate. I believe that teleology is a naturalistic alternative that is distinct from all three of the other candidate explanations: chance, creationism, and directionless physical law. To avoid the mistake that White finds in the hypothesis of nonintentional bias, teleology would have to be restrictive in what it makes likely, but without depending on intentions or motives. This would probably have to involve some conception of an increase in value through the expanded possibilities provided by the higher forms of organization toward which nature tends: not just any outcome could qualify as a telos. That would make value an explanatory end, but not one that is realized through the purposes or intentions of an agent. 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