Philosophy of Biological Classification

Marc Ereshefsky, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003447

Essentialism was the prominent philosophy of classification until Darwin's time. Essentialism has been replaced with two philosophies based on evolutionary theory: evolutionary taxonomy and cladism.

Keywords: cladism; classification; essentialism; evolutionary taxonomy; taxonomy

Figure 1. (a) A case of speciation through cladogenesis. A population of species A becomes isolated from the rest of the species. It undergoes a genetic revolution and becomes a distinct species, B. (b) A case of speciation through anagenesis. Species A gradually evolves until it becomes a new species, B.
Figure 2. The taxon Reptilia contains lizards and crocodiles but not birds.
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 Further Reading
    book Atran S (1990) Cognitive Foundations of Natural History: Towards an Anthropology of Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    book Ereshefsky M (ed.) (1992) The Units of Evolution: Essays on the Nature of Species. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
    book Ereshefsky M (2001) The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy: A Philosophical Study of Biological Taxonomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    book Hennig W (1966) Phylogenetic Systematics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
    book Hull D (1988) Science as a Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
    book Mayr E (1982) The Growth of Biological Thought. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
    book Panchen A (1992) Classification, Evolution, and the Nature of Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    book Ridley M (1986) Evolution and Classification: The Reformation of Cladism. New York: Longman.
    book Sober E (ed.) (1994) Conceptual Issues in Evolutionary Biology, 2nd edn. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
    book Wiley E (1981) Phylogenetics: The Theory and Practice of Phylogenetic Systematics. New York: Wiley.

Related Sub-Topics:

Classification | Philosophy of the Life Sciences
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Article Title: Philosophy of Biological Classification
 
How to Cite close
Ereshefsky, Marc(Apr 2001) Philosophy of Biological Classification. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003447]