Selected issues of teleological and holistic perspective of morphogenetic and behavioral phenomena of living beings

Abstract

Wholeness of vital processes in both, internal and external dimension is manifested, according to Aristotle’s terminology, by a substantial living form and is a condition of a purposeful behavior. Authors claim that, empirical data concerning animals tool use, and data concerning regulating processes, inside every living organism, cognitively force us to place them within teleological-holistic conceptual frames. According to the authors, teleology requires a renewed revision and specific defining. Although, from one hand, some researchers think that it is an adequate tool used to describe biological purposeful processes, from the other hand it has often been weeded out and replaced by physical concept of function. Biological functionality intuitively links with the concept of wholeness and purposefulness. It should be emphasized, however, that not always simply physical concept of function may coincide with the concept of function in a biological sense, in spite of the fact that some relations observed within a living organism might by expressed thanks to a physical concept alone.