PKU3 NATURE 7 Linnaeus, classifying all living creatures
Linnaeus: The Taxonomic Classification of All Living Things
Introduction:
Carl von Linné (1707-1778), Swedish scientists who gave himself the Latinate name
Carolus Linnaeus after he was ennobled, generated a vast scheme of classification
designed to show how all the life forms on earth were related to each other. The result
embodies a model of how Western minds work in categories and levels. Later science
has modified some of his categories and sometimes redefined the characteristics that
distinguish different groups or levels from each other. But even so, this work is
remarkable for its inclusiveness. It both perceived and invented an order in the nature of
things
Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002), a major contributor to evolutionary biology, had this
to say in 1990 about Linnaeus’ kind of work: “Taxonomy (the science of classification) is
often undervalued as a glorified form of filing that gives each species a place in an
album. But taxonomy is a fundamental and dynamic science, dedicated to exploring the
causes of relationships and similarities among organisms. Classifications are theories
about the basis of natural order, not dull catalogues compiled only to avoid chaos." This
comment shows that the Western interest in such schemes is still active.
In the context of WCwCC this scheme serves primarily to exemplify Western ways of
making sense of the world though reliance on categories [link: thinking]
In the example below, on each level the group given here is distinguished from one
or more other groups based on the presence or absence of the traits mentioned. Note
that the starting point is distinctively Western as opposed to Chinese: Linnaeus is
interested in life forms, as distinguished from inanimate existences [link: qi].
Sample classification: modern humans as a living species:
This pictorial version simplifies the original scheme by leaving out several levels.
A more informative way to visualize the way these levels fit together is given below.
It comes closer to the original set of distinctions originated by Linnaeus. His terms were,
of course, in Latin, the intellectual language of his time.
Sapiens (high forehead, well-developed chin,
large brain)
Homo (s-curved spine, "man")
Hominidae (upright posture, stereoscopic
vision, flat face, specialized hands and feet)
Primates (collar bone, eyes face forward,
grasping hands with fingers)
Mammalia (vertebrates with hair and
mammary glands to nourish young with milk)
Chordata (animals with a dorsal nerve cord as
opposed to other types of nervous systems)
Animalia (as opposed to Plants)
Eukarya (organisms which have cells with a
nucleus whereas others do not)
Vitae (as opposed to things made of “dead”
matter)
Excerpt from Western Civilization with Chinese Comparisons, 3rd ed,
(Shanghai: Fudan University Press, 2010), CD-ROM, pp 1060-62.