Teleology has been completely rejected by evolutionary biologists. This rejection is unfortunate, because, teleology is alive and well in physics
Frank Tipler,
World Renowned Cosmologist on Sci Phi Show!
Much of the discussion of ID has been in biology. But the notion of ID and teleology has permeated the history of physics from the beginning to the present day.
Commenting on the history of physics, Tipler with his co-author Barrow describe the ID-inspired least action principles that are the foundation of many theories in physics:
The principle of least time was the bases of the next use of a minimal principle, by the seventeenth-century French mathematician and lawyer Fermat
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Fermat’s work led the German philosopher Leibniz to argue in a letter written in 1687 that in as much as the concept of purpose was basic to true science, the laws of physics should and could be expressed in terms of minimum principles
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The first such formulation was given by the French scientist Maupertuis who in 1744 presented a paper to the French Academy of Sciences showing that the behaviour of bodies in an impact could be predicted by assuming the product mvs, where m is mass, v is velocity, and s the distance, to be a minimum. He contended that his formulation indicated the operation of final causes in Nature, and that final causes imply the existence of a Supreme Being. Maupertuis, following Leibniz and Wolff, call the quantity mvs, whch has dimensions of energy times time, the action.Barrow and Tipler
Anthropic Cosmological Principle
the great scientist Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) wrote:
All the greatest mathematicians have long since recognized that the [least action] method…is not only extremely useful in analysis, but that it also contributes greatly to the solution of physical problems…the fabric of the universe is most perfect, and the work of a most wise Creator
Edwin Taylor writes of this ID inspired idea:
Not only does the [ID-inspired] least-action principle offer a means of formulating classical mechanics that is more flexible and powerful than Newtonian mechanics, [but also] variations on the least-action principle have proved useful in general relativity theory, quantum field theory, and particle physics. As a result, this principle lies at the core of much of contemporary theoretical physics.
Barrow and Tipler echo the importance of ID-inspired least action principles:
Nevertheless, many physicists have contended that the action principle formulation of mechanics is more fundamental than the mechanistic formulation…Max Plank also felt the action formulation was a more fundamental view of natural phenomena than the mechanistic approach, primarily because he was partial to teleological explanations for religious reasons…..
Helmholtz assertion that action principles can suggest new physical laws has been confirmed in the twentieth century. The German mathematician Hilbert discovered the final form of the Einstein field equations independently of Einstein by combining hints coming from earlier attempts by Einstein to construct gravitational field equations with the requirement that the equations be derived from a ‘simple’ action integral. In this case adopting the attitude that the action–and hence by implication, a teleological process–is basic to nature led to a major discovery.
Barrow and Tipler
Anthropic Cosmological Principle
In contrast one has to wonder what scientific benefit has there been to assuming the world is pointless and purposeless as Richard Dawkins contends. It would be informative to contrast in contributions between the ID-leaning physicist James Maxwell and Charles Darwin. [See: Comparing Darwin to a real math and physics genius.] A case can be made that Darwinism has been an enormous hindrance to scientific progress and the progress of civilization.
When balancing the value of teleological versus ateleological perspectives, it seems clear, from the record of history, science has everything to gain by continuing in the tradition of ID-inspired teleological theories.