An example of teleology in scientific writing,
"…if these humble fungi – whose mission is to return to the general circulation of matter those substances incorporated by the higher plants and animals – were to disappear, humans could not inhabit the planet."
Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1999). Advice for a Young Investigator. The MIT Press. (Translation of 4th Spanish Edition, 1916)
To refer to the fungi's mission implies a deliberate purpose:
Read about teleology in science
Read examples of teleological (pseudo)explanations for scientific phenomena
Read about types of pseudo-explanations
Examples of teleological statements are included in a document listing a wide range of examples of science analogies, similes, metaphors and the like, drawn from diverse sources, which can be downloaded using this link: 'Creative Comparisons: Making Science Familiar through Language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts.'
Calling fungi humble is metaphorical, as an entity can only be humble if it could make alternative choices (so as to be arrogant and pretentious perhaps). This can be considered an anthropomorphic metaphor as it suggests fungi have human-like properties.
Read examples of anthropomorphism in science
Many examples of anthropomorphism are listed in 'Creative comparisons: Making science familiar through language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.
