ABSTRACT
The theoretical implications of teleology and its conceptual history are in fact often so intertwined that a historical perspective is absolutely essential to understand the philosophical issues at stake, let alone solve them. This chapter shows that the controversial nature of teleology is essentially linked to a lack of appreciation of the complex semantics, both historical and theoretical, surrounding the concept. It explores a case for Integrated History and Philosophy of Science as a specific kind of inquiry, different from both externalist historical reconstruction and theoretical Philosophy of Science. The chapter provides a more detailed case study, concerning how the Aristotelian conception of teleology was implemented by G. W. F. Hegel. It argues that a historical perspective is a crucial resource for the Philosophy of Science, because it serves to uncover the contextual origin of supposedly obvious concepts, bringing to light the assumptions on which they rest and the other theoretical alternatives that their emergence obscured.
