Eric Alexander

“Aristotle invented the word “entelechy” to refer to a thing that has its own principle of development within it, a vital force that propels it forward to become fully what it is. A human embryo, while dependent on others (especially the mother), already has within it a road map to develop into a fully formed human and the self-organization to get there, provided the embryo receives what it needs to support its growth. A standard computer doesn’t possess entelechy: it has to be assembled and programmed. It can’t assemble its own component parts and grow into a fully developed version of itself the way a sapling becomes a sequoia.”
― Luke Burgis, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life