Teleology is the idea that some processes in nature are directed toward a goal or an end. Today, it is commonly asserted that teleology is a remnant of antiquated ways of thinking about causation, and that it is not compatible with modern science, because it is fundamentally untestable.
In my opinion, such claims fail to take modern physics into account. Quantum theory involves a complex notion of causation, and it can naturally incorporate final conditions. However, to work with final conditions that are not imposed by external agents, we need to move into the realm of quantum cosmology, in which the whole universe is treated as a quantum system.
With this issue in mind, I studied final conditions in quantum cosmology. I found that cosmologies with such conditions generally predict a universe with accelerated expansion. Cosmic acceleration is a well-established fact, and also one of the most puzzling features of modern cosmology.