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Originally Posted by Irishman
Re: the teleological why
I submit that the question is invalid. "Why" is a question of intent, purpose, goal, meaning. These words only make sense in the context of consciousness.
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As I mention above there are (at least) two usages of why. When it is about purpose, I agree that it only makes sense applied to the actions of conscious beings. It is however a perfectly good question in that context.
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Originally Posted by Irishman
Why did you go to the bank? I needed money.
Why did you slap your sister? She was mouthing off.
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Nice examples - teleological and causal, although the second could have been answered teleologically too.
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Originally Posted by Irishman
Why did you lick your feet? Because I could.
Why did you leave the dog in the house for 12 hours straight? Uh, oops.
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OK, I think these are another class, rhetorical whys. I'm tempted to call them terrestrial whys ("why on earth...")
