Table 3 Examples of students' teleological explanations
From: Children’s Intuitive Teleology: Shifting the Focus of Evolution Education Research
Teleological explanations | Explanations for usefulness | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Duck feet | Color | In order to swim fast | For concealment |
Shape | In order to swim | In order to swim well | |
Scissors | Color | In order to show that it is sharp | In order to cut things |
Shape | In order to cut | Because humans like it that way | |
Rock | Color | So that lizards can conceal themselves | In order to look nice |
Shape | So that humans can sit on it | In order to look heavy | |
Booby feet | Color | In order to be indistinguishable in the water | So that its feet are more beautiful |
Shape | In order to swim | In order to swim well | |
Nutcracker | Color | In order to look nicer | In order to be different |
Shape | In order to break nuts | So that people break things | |
Stalagmite | Color | In order to be beautiful | Because it looks nice |
Shape | In order to look nice | So that the cave will look nicer | |