The teleology is just shorthand, scientists aren't actually assigning agency. It's still possible to discuss drivers of selection pressure though, sometimes jus

The teleology is just shorthand, scientists aren't actually assigning agency. It's still possible to discuss drivers of selection pressure though, sometimes just easier (especially in sci comm) to explain some things quasi-teleologically. There's a number of ways to test how much 'chance' is involved. For example take independent emergence of a novel trait across many different taxa. Or take difference that emerge after a genetic bottleneck, like when a very small founder population establishes in a new isolated habitat. In the case of a giraffe neck, probably not that parsimonious that such a distinct feature would just arise due to drift.