ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that I. Kant’s views on teleological thinking can help throw new light on the debate. In particular Kant held that intuitive teleology helps to make sense of the world–and thus is regulative of cognition–but that it also makes habitually overstep the boundaries of reasoning. The chapter provides an overview of Kant’s transcendental illusion and its relevance for cognitive science and explores the cognitive science of religion literature on intuitive teleological thinking. It looks at Kant’s discussion of teleology in the third Critique, and his evaluation of the design argument. The chapter suggests that teleological thinking is tenacious, although it can be subdued by education and reviews some objections to promiscuous teleology. D. Kelemen argues that people overextend teleology beyond artefacts and anatomical adaptations, hence ‘promiscuous teleology’. While evidence for promiscuous teleology is substantial, the hypothesis faces a number of difficulties.
