Does anything have an objective purpose? For example, maybe the purpose of eyes is to see. Or, is all purpose subjective? My guess is that nothing has an objective purpose, because the concept of purpose is purely subjective. But what have philosophers thought about this topic?
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Maybe useful this post regarding The Notion of Objectivity as well as Objectivity in science.– Mauro ALLEGRANZACommented Oct 31, 2023 at 14:52
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And see Objectivity: A Very Short Introduction (2012), by Stephen Gaukroger.– Mauro ALLEGRANZACommented Oct 31, 2023 at 14:53
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See also Objectivity and subjectivity.– Mauro ALLEGRANZACommented Oct 31, 2023 at 14:55
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But usually "subjective" means "depending on our values, bias, taste. Which of this three cases apply to eye? There are "shared" (inter-subjective) purposes, and science is probably the paradigmatic case.– Mauro ALLEGRANZACommented Oct 31, 2023 at 14:57
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Is this appropriate for the tag philosophy-of-science?– Mikhail KatzCommented Oct 31, 2023 at 15:07
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1 Answer
Eyes do not have a purpose, they have a function: The function of seeing.
From the viewpoint of biology and specifically from the viewpoint of the theory of evolution the capability of seeing and the function of the eyes as the correponding tool have developed in accomodation to the ecological niche of the human species. The capability of seeing improves orientation of human beeings and provides them with more information about their surrounding. That’s a big advantage.
But it is one characteristic of the theory, that biological evolution does not realize a predetermined plan or purpose. It is not teleological.
Acting purposeful is the capability of human beings and certain other animals.
But it can be discussed whether even this interpretation hides the fact, that also humans are causally determined by their previous experiences and the assessment of their results. This leads to the question how to conciliate free will and determinism. If that’s possible, then our purposeful action is the subjective, first-person view of a causally determined mechanism.
answered Oct 31, 2023 at 18:02
