Intentionality fallacy

Biological Parallel

Plants don't "try" to grow toward light; photoreceptors trigger asymmetric auxin redistribution, causing differential cell elongation on the shaded side. Bacterial chemotaxis toward glucose isn't goal-directed—molecular machinery simply tumbles less frequently when chemical gradients improve. Natural selection creates the illusion of purpose: mechanisms that happened to improve survival were retained, not because organisms "wanted" them, but because alternatives died out.