The Deteleologization of Nature: Darwin’s Language in On the Origin of Species

Abstract

Although a detailed analysis of Darwin’s lexicon in On the Origin of Species has not been undertaken, critical literature claims that there are lexical signs of a teleological nature in the language used in this work. I intend to refute, through an analysis of the lexicon in Darwin’s work, the criticisms that claim a teleological subtext in Darwin’s language and that conceive said lan- guage to be a reflection of a teleological conception of nature. I will place special emphasis on the lexical material that Darwin uses in those paragraphs dedicated to the description of the function of Natural Selection.