Teleologie is die filosofiese studie van doelgerigtheid en finale oorsake. Dit ondersoek die vraag of dinge in die natuur na bepaalde doelwitte of eindpunte streef, en of die heelal as geheel ‘n oorkoepelende doel het. Die feit dat ‘n eikelboom “weet” om ‘n eikeboom te word en nie ‘n roosbos nie, dui byvoorbeeld op teleologie – ‘n ingebouwe doelgerigtheid. In die groter prentjie wys die fyn-ingestelde aard van die heelal na ‘n oorkoepelende doel wat deur God in Sy voorsienigheid ingestel is. In die teologie verwys teleologie na God se ewige plan en die doelgerigtheid wat Hy in die skepping ingebou het, en dit ondersteun die teleologiese argument vir God se bestaan.
Teleology is the philosophical study of purposiveness and final causes. It investigates the question whether things in nature strive towards certain goals or endpoints, and whether the universe as a whole has an overarching purpose. The fact that an acorn “knows” to become an oak tree and not a rose bush, for example, points to teleology – a built-in directedness towards an end. In the broader picture the finely tuned nature of the universe points to an overarching purpose established by God in His providence. In theology teleology refers to God’s eternal plan and the purposiveness He has built into creation, and it supports the teleological argument for God’s existence.