[gumby]

> Plenty of popsci journos write as if nature is intelligent and driven by some purpose.

You might want to read “The intentional stance” by the famous philosopher Daniel Dennett. This is a pretty useful analytic approach for many problems (e.g. we commonly say things like “the thermostat tries to keep the temperature within three degrees of its set point”).

I agree it is distressing that many people interpret such metaphors literally.