Equifinality

a condition in which different initial conditions lead to similar effects. (see multifinality .) Equifinality in biological systems led the German biologist Driesch to embrace vitalism--the doctrine that vital phenomena are inexplicable in terms of natural science. (Von Bertalanffy, p. 40)

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A behavior that is oriented towards reaching certain final conditions or states regardless of where it started. Bertalanffy argued that equifinality characterizes the behavior of biological organisms but not that of physical devices and can therefore be used to distinguish between these. The model ling of such behavior by computers has blurred this distinction (see goal oriented , equilibrium , stability ). (Krippendorff )