from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Dysteleology \Dys*te`le*ol"o*gy\, n. [Pref. dys- + teleology.]
(Biol.)
The doctrine of purposelessness; a term applied by Haeckel to
that branch of physiology which treats of rudimentary organs,
in view of their being useless to the life of the organism.
[1913 Webster]
To the doctrine of dysteleology, or the denial of final
causes, a proof of the real existence of such a thing
as instinct must necessarily be fatal. --Word
(Dynamic
Sociology).
[1913 Webster]