Micro-Teleology

Nussbaum’s account of Aristotle’s views on emotion also nicely illustrates the role of “that for the sake of which” in determining the behavior of living beings for Aristotle, for instance when she says that the dog who goes across the room to get a piece of meat is not “propelled from behind” to do so by instinct or whatever, but rather is attracted because it apprehends something as potential food, as distinct from non-food.