An example of teleology (and personification) in a scientist's writing:
"VOLCANOS are natural to the globe, as general operations; but we are not to consider nature as having a burning mountain for an end in her intention, or as a principal purpose in the general system of this world. The end of nature in placing an internal fire or power of heat, and a force of irresistible expansion, in the body of this earth, is to consolidate the sediment collected at the bottom of the sea, and to form thereof a mass of permanent land above the level of the ocean, for the purpose of maintaining plants and animals. The power appointed for this purpose is, as on all other occasions, where the operation is important, and where there is any danger of a shortcoming, wisely provided in abundance; and there are contrived means for disposing of the redundancy. These, in the present case, are our volcanos."
James Hutton (1788) Theory of the Earth
Hutton saw the earth as a system that recycled materials, with internal heat as the power source (a 'machine of a peculiar construction by which it is adapted to a certain end'). Here he describes this teleologically: that nature (personified as 'her') has an aim, and so has set up the world as it is for a purpose – to provide the ecosystem to support life on Earth. The puposes of a volcano, in this scheme, is not to have a burning mountain for its own sake, but as a kind of safety valve, so nature can provide sufficient internal heat to ensure the system keeps running, whilst having a means for any excess that build up form time to time to be released.
Read about teleology in science
Read examples of teleological (pseudo)explanations for scientific phenomena
Read about types of pseudo-explanations
Read about personification in science texts
