Ultimate end

Telos refers to the ultimate end or fulfillment toward which a thing naturally tends. The term means “end,” “completion,” or “fulfillment,” not in the sense of a mere stopping point, but as that for the sake of which something exists and reaches its full realization.

In Greek philosophy, telos is not an arbitrary goal one sets for oneself, but what gives meaning and coherence to an entire life. It answers the fundamental question: toward what does all of this ultimately tend?

In Aristotle, the telos of human beings is eudaimonia: a fully accomplished life, defined as an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. Telos is therefore not a passive state, but a way of acting and living that actualizes what a human being is potentially.

The Stoics take up the concept but simplify and radicalize it. For them, the telos is to live in accordance with nature, that is, in accordance with reason. This conformity does not depend on external circumstances, but solely on the correctness of judgment and inner coherence. The telos is achieved as soon as life is morally upright, regardless of success, pleasure, or material conditions.

It is essential to distinguish telos from skopos. Telos is the ultimate, stable, and non-negotiable end; skopos is the immediate aim of action here and now. Telos provides the overall direction of life; skopos governs the orientation of each particular act. One can act in accordance with telos even if the intended outcome is not achieved.

Thus, telos is not something one “obtains” at the end of life as a reward. It is that according to which one lives at every moment. To live according to one’s telos is to make each action a coherent expression of what one judges to be the human good.