Teleology in Renaissance Science

Teleology is the idea according to which every event is directed toward precise aim, even those not depending from conscious actions. The teleological interpretation of the world is particularly important in Renaissance natural philosophy because of the detachment from tradition. Nature’s regularity and organization is no more attributed to God but to nature itself. Starting from the sixteenth century’s Italian philosophy, nature is believed to be sensitive and intelligent in different degrees, and it implies a completely new teleological interpretation of the world.