Teleological explanations appeal to future purpose while mechanistic explanations trace earlier causes.

Evidence

The ‘final cause’ of an occurrence is an event in the future for the sake of which the occurrence takes place. … The answer to the former question is a teleological explanation, or an explanation by final causes; the answer to the latter question is a mechanistic explanation. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 362

Categorization

• DEFINE: DEFINE teleological vs mechanistic explanations
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 362
• XREF: connects to: Experience shows that mechanistic questions yield scientific knowledge while teleological ones do not. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 362; Newtonian science shaped a mechanical worldview of human reason — Richard A. Posner, What Has Pragmatism to Offer Law?, 22; In absorbed action teleological order reverses causal order — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 724 (+2 more)