Causa Finale, Sostanza, Essenza in Aristotele. Saggio sulla struttura dei processi teleologici naturali e sulla funzione del telos

This book is about Aristotle’s natural teleology. Its most general aims are the following: 1) to describe the structure of a natural teleological process; 2) to describe the function of the final cause. The book comprises two main parts. The first focuses on Physics II and argues that Physics II is a long unitary argument concerning teleology, i.e. that the entire book, from its very beginning (the definition of nature), deals with teleology. Moreover, insofar as the structure of natural teleological processes and the function of the final cause are concerned, the first part argues that in Physics II natural teleological process are conceived as circular processes or as parts of circular processes, and that the function of the final cause is to ensure all natural entities the status of substances. The second part of the book focuses on PA I and other biological writings. Its main aim is to verify and to deepen the findings of the first part, especially by giving an anatomical and physiological description of the structure and functioning of natural teleological processes