Finalistiche

Finalistiche is a Italian term used to describe explanations, theories, or methodological approaches that appeal to purposes or ends as causal factors. The word derives from finale, meaning end or purpose, and the plural form finalistiche is commonly employed in scholarly Italian to denote teleological explanations, i.e., accounts that attribute function or goal to a phenomenon rather than relying solely on efficient or material causes.

In philosophy, biology, and related fields, finalistiche descriptions are associated with teleology or finalism. Historically linked to Aristotelian thought and medieval scholasticism, they refer to explanations that assume an end state or purpose underlies a process or structure. In modern science, teleological language is often reinterpreted as functional or adaptive explanation, in which a feature is described in terms of its role or contribution to an organism or system, while underlying mechanisms are described by proximate and ultimate causes rather than conscious purposes.

Contemporary use of finalistiche explanations varies by domain. In biology, for example, one might speak of the function of an organ in a teleological sense but understand it through evolutionary explanations. In philosophy of science and ethics, finalistiche reasoning appears in discussions of design, purpose, and goal-directed behavior, though it is typically kept separate from methodological naturalism that rejects intentional explanation as a scientific cause.

Overall, finalistiche denotes a family of approaches that foreground ends or purposes as explanatory factors, and it is contrasted with non-teleological, mechanistic accounts in many contemporary debates. See also teleologia, finalismo, spiegazione funzionale.