The place of the *elements in Aristotle's natural teleology

The place of the elements (earth, air, fire, and water) in Aristotle's account of natural teleology has been widely misunderstood, and as a result the account has been interpreted with an overly biological focus. Scholars have thought that Aristotle's natural teleology applies exclusively to biological things such as plants and animals and that the elements are teleological only insofar as they play a role in biological processes.;If the elements were teleological only insofar as they play a role in biological processes, we could discover all there is to know about their teleology by looking to Aristotle's biological works---Parts of Animals, History of Animals, and Generation of Animals---where he discusses the elements in their role as ingredients. But since Aristotle thinks that the elements are also teleological on their own and apart from biological processes, my dissertation shows that there is much to learn about Aristotle's view of elemental teleology by looking at his elemental works---On the Heavens, Generation and Corruption, and the Meteorology ---where Aristotle gives an account of the elements as independent things.;Elucidating the way in which the elements are teleological independently of biological processes is important not only for understanding Aristotle's account of the elements, but also for understanding his natural teleology more generally. Aristotle's account of the elements as independent teleological things imposes a constraint on the proper interpretation of Aristotle's natural teleology as a whole. The dissertation argues for a new understanding of the ontological basis of Aristotle's ascriptions of teleology to natural things---a basis found both among biological things and the elements.