Some Problems with the Linnaean Hierarchy
- 1 June 1994
- journal article
- research article
- Published by University of Chicago Press in Philosophy of Science
- Vol. 61 (2) , 186-205
- https://doi.org/10.1086/289795
Abstract
Most biologists use the Linnaean system for constructing classifications of the organic world. The Linnaean system, however, has lost its theoretical basis due to the shift in biology from creationist and essentialist tenets to evolutionary theory. As a result, the Linnaean system is both cumbersome and ontologically vacuous. This paper illustrates the problems facing the Linnaean system, and ends with a brief introduction to an alternative approach to biological classification.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Eliminative PluralismPhilosophy of Science, 1992