 Monod starts off chapter I entitled "Of Strange Objects" with a consideration of the difference between natural and artificial objects and states that "the basic premise of the scientific method... [is] that nature is objective and not projective" (Monod, 3).Through a series of thought experiments and rhetorical questions, he leads the reader on a difficult path to three characteristics of living beings.One is teleonomy which Monod defines as the characteristic of being "endowed with a purpose or project" (Monod, 9).