Darwin-L Message Log 6:16 (February 1994)

Academic Discussion on the History and Theory of the Historical Sciences

This is one message from the Archives of Darwin-L (1993–1997), a professional discussion group on the history and theory of the historical sciences.

Note: Additional publications on evolution and the historical sciences by the Darwin-L list owner are available on SSRN.

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<6:16>From BOTCFNR@vm.uni-c.dk  Fri Feb  4 07:38:00 1994

Date: Fri, 04 Feb 94 14:20:43 DNT
From: Finn N Rasmussen <BOTCFNR@vm.uni-c.dk>
Subject: Re: Peter Stevens, Quinarianism
To: darwin-l@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu

  Peter Stevens wrote:
>As to Bob's comments on Linnaeus - how fascinating.  There are obviousl two
>issues here - the kind of information L. was using, and how he organise it.
>Cain's paper is very interesting, and the "quinarian" thinking that is vident
>in some of Linnaeus work (five ranks in the system, five main parts of he
>fructification) are also evident in some of Linnaeus's "occult sources"  That
>continuity is evident in L's arrangement of minerals is nice, because Cin
>found it within what we would call molluscs (Amer. Malac. Bull. 2: 82. 983), I
>seem to remember that Polly Winsor has noted a distinctive serial arranement
>of some insect groups (Taxon 25: 57-67. 1976), and it is also evident i the
>plant/animal boundary" (J. Arnold Arboretum 71:179-220. 1990).

  - A number of rather recent authors  have promoted the idea of viewing
life as organized into "5 kingdoms". Evidently, at least 3 kingdoms are para-
phyletic and thus not admissable in a phylogenetic classification. Is the
"5-kingdom view" a kind of neo-quinarianism - a ghost from Victorian
taxonomy?
                                     Finn N Rasmussen
                                     botcfnr at vm.uni-c.dk
                                     Botanical Laboratory, Univ. Copenhagen

 PS: Didn't "today in historical sciences" overlook W. Johansen, inventor of
the term gene, on 03 Feb?

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