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The is from Ñanavira's book: Notes on Dhamma. It is from footnote b in the notes on Anicca:

McTaggart, in The Nature of Existence (Cambridge 1921-7, §§149-54), remarks that philosophers have usually taken the expressions 'organic unity' and 'inner teleology' as synonymous (the aspect of unity becoming the end in the terminology of the latter conception), and that they distinguish 'inner teleology' from 'external teleology', which is what we normally call volition. Without discussing McTaggart's views, we may note that the distinction between 'inner' and 'external' teleology is simply the distinction between immediate and reflexive intention. Every situation is an organic unity, whether it is a cube or bankruptcy we are faced with.

So why is every situation an organic unity? Is not an organic unity, McTaggart is saying synonymous to inner teleogy and so an immediate intention (in the Phenomenological sense). A situation I thought requires both what is intentional and what is intended and also has many intentions as opposed to one.'

PDT
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    Details see Vasubandhu’s books such as “100 bright doors dharma”, apparently here inner teleology is not the obvious phenomenon either about the immediate intended or the intentional, it can only be an organically united single reflexive shadowing situation. And in yogachara generally it’s one-one relationship between one intended and one intentional dharma pair, and it has totally 100 such pairs in his system… – Double Knot Apr 25 '22 at 00:27

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From Organic Unity:

Organic unity is the idea that a thing is made up of interdependent parts. For example, a body is made up of its constituent organs, and a society is made up of its constituent social roles.

Note the origins in Plato discussing literature, and the organic unity of an artwork. It is about wholes which would be disturbed or destroyed by small changes in the parts, or their relations.

Intrinsic & extrinsic teleology can be related to internal & external sources of motivation. See this introduction: The origin of the subject Series 1: Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation.

McTaggart relates 'external teleology' to interpreting the purposes in the world. And 'internal teleology' to internally derived goals, or values.

I'd say the key is, what we group into 'situation'. We try to group together interdependent parts, and separate independent parts. In our inner reflexive experience, the situation is a psychological organic unity. In acting on the situation unreflexively, with immediacy, we are responding to the physical organic unity. A cube is mainly on the physical side, though the bouba/kiki effect shows we draw psychological inferences from shapes. Bankruptcy is mainly a social-psychological experience, but likely would also link to physical conditions like market dynamics or employment.

The book Examination of McTaggart's Philosophy Volume I, by Broad has the whole of Chapter 17 on Manifestation & Organic Unity (from p310), outlining the wider purpose McTaggart has in distinguishing between intrinsic and extrinsic unity, in relation to his scholastic religious background addressing idealism, which is a bit niche. Aquinas built his ethics on intrinsic finality of teleology, for instance.

Not super familiar with McTaggart, but I hope that at least points towards clarification.

CriglCragl
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  • Thanks. What is a reflexive and immediate intention? Why are they synonymous with external and internal teology? – PDT May 05 '22 at 09:56
  • McTaggart relates 'external teleology' to interpreting the purposes in the world. And 'internal teleology' to internally derived goals, or values. I am not sure what you mean by this. – PDT May 05 '22 at 09:57