Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T00:24:34.731Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - A Primer of Biological Taxonomy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2009

Marc Ereshefsky
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
Get access

Summary

The previous chapter provided an introduction to the philosophy of classification. In upcoming chapters we examine how various issues in the philosophy of classification arise in biological taxonomy. But first we need a proper introduction to biological taxonomy. That is the job of this chapter.

Before the schools of biological taxonomy are discussed, some terminology should be clarified. This book concerns itself with philosophical problems in biological taxonomy, but what is the difference between “taxonomy”and “classification”? And how are these distinguished from “systematics”? Let us start with the first term. According to Mayr (1969, 2), “[t]axonomy is the theory and practice of classifying organisms.” A school of biological taxonomy offers principles and techniques for constructing biological classifications. Those methods tell us how to classify organisms into taxa and how to classify taxa into more inclusive taxa (species into families, for instance). The term “classification” refers to the product of taxonomy. Using the methods of a particular school of taxonomy, biologists construct classifications of the organic world.

Systematics is a bit different. In this book, I follow Simpson's (1961, 7) description of biological systematics: “Systematics is the scientific study of the kinds and diversity of organisms and of any and all relationships among them.” Biological systematics does not provide methods for constructing classifications (that is the job of biological taxonomy); instead it studies how organisms and taxa are related in the natural world.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy
A Philosophical Study of Biological Taxonomy
, pp. 50 - 93
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×