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ἔχειν τὸ τέλος τέλεια. ὥστ’ ἐπεὶ τὸ τέλος τῶν ἐσχάτων τί ἐστι, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ φαῦλα μεταφέροντες λέγομεν τελείως ἀπολωλέναι καὶ τελείως ἐφθάρθαι, ὅταν μηδὲν ἐλλείπῃ τῆς φθορᾶς καὶ τοῦ κακοῦ ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐσχάτου ᾖ.⁷¹ “Further, τέλειον is being in the how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com- being in the how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com-being in the how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com- in the how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com-in the how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com- the how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com-the how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com- how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com-how of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com- of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com-of being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com- being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com-being-completed, the being in which, as such, its com--completed, the being in which, as such, its com-completed, the being in which, as such, its com-, the being in which, as such, its com-the being in which, as such, its com- being in which, as such, its com-being in which, as such, its com- in which, as such, its com-in which, as such, its com- which, as such, its com-which, as such, its com- as such, its com-as such, its com- such, its com-such, its com-, its com-its com- com-completedness is at hand in a serious way. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad- is at hand in a serious way. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad-is at hand in a serious way. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad- at hand in a serious way. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad-at hand in a serious way. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad- hand in a serious way. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad-hand in a serious way. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad-. Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is ad-Indeed, such a being as τέλειον is addressed with respect to the having of the end in the sense of completedness. Thus, since the τέλος belongs to what is outermost, we have carried over the how of what is meant also to what is bad. We speak of a full being-annihilated if there is nothing left upon extinction, but there is a full, entire extinguishing at what is outermost.”

διὸ καὶ ἡ τελευτὴ κατὰ μεταφορὰν λέγεται τέλος, ὅτι ἄμφω ἔσχατα.⁷² “On this account, even the end of life, death, is called consummation in view of a carrying-over constituting a being-completed of life.” The carrying-over is grounded in the fact that the end of life has the character of what is outermost, τελευτὴ is τέλος.

τέλος δὲ καὶ τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα ἔσχατον.⁷³ “Τέλος, constituting the end as beingcompleted, means also that for the sake of which something is, the for-thesake-of-which as what is outermost.” Finally, there follows a comprehending structure of the foregoing meanings, a division from the point of view of the categories to which we will return, in order to see how, in particular, τέλος is a basic category of beings.

One must be cautious with the concept of “teleology.” Aristotle had no “teleological” worldview. Even a superficial understanding shows that τέλειον and τέλος do not mean “aim” or “purpose.” It is explicitly formulated as τῶν ἐσχάτων τι; it has the character of “what is outermost.” The primary basic determination is being-an-end. That one translates τέλος as “purpose” or “aim” has its ground, of course, and does not appear out of thin air. It is a question of whether these translations are primary and whether one may, at this level of being-investigation, indiscriminately toss about primary and derivative meanings. Purpose is the for-what; aim is that toward which something is. The end can be encountered in the character of purpose or aim, but only because τέλος is end. It is aim or purpose with respect to a definite looking-toward . . . , keeping-in-sight. At the level of this investigation, being purposeful or having an aim is an utter misinterpretation, and leads to the impression that Aristotle too was one of those primitive people who lived in the nineteenth century.

b) Arrangement of the Chapter

α. The First Two Points of Arrangement. The Method of Carrying-Over

Metaphysics Δ16 may be arranged as follows:

71. Met. Δ 16, 1021 b 23 sqq.

72. Met. Δ 16, 1021 b 28 sq.

73. Met. Δ 16, 1021 b 29 sq.