Pat Gunning wrote: > Don't you agree that heat seeking missiles, fly-seeking > frogs, and deer-seeking wolves are very much different > from profit seeking prospective employers and employees. Of course they differ. Each differs from every other. But in the context of the current conversation they have something crucial in common: however much we may believe that "deep down" there is a purely naturalistic description of the "seeking" taking place, in *each* case we still find it useful (for understanding as well as for prediction) to charactrize them teleologically (i.e., as seeking). Indeed, for these purposes, most of us will have no more useful characterization. Alan PS Trying a bit to reroot this conversaion in HES, it may be worth recalling that Veblen (1909, JPE) discussed how reliance on teleological explanations introduced a tension for economists who hope to practice an economic "science".