Deborah Kelemen studied teleological reasoning in childhood. Comparing purpose-based with physical explanations of natural objects tests how children interpret why a feature exists. The design distinguishes endorsement of an explanation in a particular task from a conclusion that every childhood belief or every natural object is understood in the same way. [ref]
Why are rocks pointy? Children's preference for teleological explanations of the natural world by Deborah Kelemen. 1999, child-adult comparisons of purpose-based and physical explanations
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