Chaos vs Order - Aristotle and Linnaeus
Taxonomy is man’s attempt to understand the organizational structure of living organisms. It originates from the idea that there was a supreme being who created everything and, therefore, a perfect organization to living organisms must exist. Each with their own opinion on how organisms should be classified, philosophers and scientists alike have attempted to make the perfect arrangement of organisms. These methods are all derived from previous methods, hence we must look at Aristotle and Linnaeus for guidance and to compare what they thought to what modern science appears to tell us regarding the relationship between organisms. Linnaeus’ simplistic system of organization is a clear advancement from the hectic system of Aristotle.
To formulate a conclusion of Aristotle’s taxonomy method is in some regards quite difficult. The philosopher passed on 2,331 years ago; consequently, he cannot continue to defend his method against modern methods and science. No one can fully understand another person’s thought process and therefore we cannot make assumptions regarding a philosopher’s methods. Yet, if there is a desire, whether out of necessity or pure casual interest, to understand the development of modern science one must look at and analyze the ideas and beliefs of the first scientists: philosophers or others, to the best of our ability. Whether modern science confirms it or disputes it, all modern conclusions, and scientific philosophies, have been influenced by those earliest thinkers.
An extensive component of a philosopher’s thoughts is definition. Yet what is definition but merely man’s attempt at using words to describe another word? This creates an endless process of attempting to find the definition of a word and then the definition of each word in the first definition. However, Aristotle developed definitions of numerous words in an attempt to create an organized structure or method of arranging organisms into something called taxonomy. The
To formulate a conclusion of Aristotle’s taxonomy method is in some regards quite difficult. The philosopher passed on 2,331 years ago; consequently, he cannot continue to defend his method against modern methods and science. No one can fully understand another person’s thought process and therefore we cannot make assumptions regarding a philosopher’s methods. Yet, if there is a desire, whether out of necessity or pure casual interest, to understand the development of modern science one must look at and analyze the ideas and beliefs of the first scientists: philosophers or others, to the best of our ability. Whether modern science confirms it or disputes it, all modern conclusions, and scientific philosophies, have been influenced by those earliest thinkers.
An extensive component of a philosopher’s thoughts is definition. Yet what is definition but merely man’s attempt at using words to describe another word? This creates an endless process of attempting to find the definition of a word and then the definition of each word in the first definition. However, Aristotle developed definitions of numerous words in an attempt to create an organized structure or method of arranging organisms into something called taxonomy. The