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Interviews | November 19, 2009

Dave: IMG Finding John Irving: The Powells.com Interview

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johnirving[Editor's note: The following is a reprint of our 2005 interview with John Irving, whose new novel, Last Night in Twisted River, has just come out... Continue »
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Other titles in the Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology series:

  1. Aristotle's Philosophy of Biology: Studies in the Origins of Life Science
  2. Biodiversity and Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy)
  3. Biological Complexity and Integrative Pluralism
  4. Biological Complexity and Integrative Pluralism
  5. Biological Individuality: The Identity and Persistence of Living Entities
  6. Biology and Epistemology
  7. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology: Embryology, Epigenesis and Evolution: Taking Development Seriously
  8. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology: Information and Meaning in Evolutionary Processes
  9. Darwinism in Philosophy, Social Science and Policy
  10. Darwinism in Philosophy, Social Science and Policy
  11. Darwinism's Struggle for Survival: Heredity and the Hypothesis of Natural Selection
  12. Discovering Cell Mechanisms: The Creation of Modern Cell Biology
  13. Discovering Cell Mechanisms: The Creation of Modern Cell Biology
  14. Embryology Epigenesis & Evolut
  15. Evolutionary Ethics and Contemporary Biology
  16. Form and Function in Developmental Evolution
  17. Genetic Analysis: A History of Genetic Thinking. Raphael Falk
  18. Information and Meaning in Evolutionary Processes
  19. Luke
  20. Making Prehistory: Historical Science and the Scientific Realism Debate
  21. Making Sense of Heritability
  22. Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change
  23. Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change
  24. Philosophy and Biodiversity
  25. Philosophy and Biodiversity
  26. Reasoning in Biological Discoveries: Essays on Mechanisms, Interfield Relations, and Anomaly Resolution
  27. Reasoning in Biological Discoveries: Essays on Mechanisms, Interfield Relations, and Anomaly Resolution
  28. Science and Selection: Essays on Biological Evolution and the Philosophy of Science
  29. Science, Politics, and Evolution
  30. Searching for Sustainability: Interdisciplinary Essays in the Philosophy of Conservation Biology
  31. The Biology and Psychology of Moral Agency
  32. The Changing Role of the Embryo in Evolutionary Thought: Roots of Evo-Devo
  33. The Changing Role of the Embryo in Evolutionary Thought: Roots of Evo-Devo
  34. The Concept of the Gene in Development and Evolution
  35. The Concept of the Gene in Development and Evolution: Historical and Epistemological Perspectives
  36. The Epistemology of Development, Evolution, and Genetics
  37. The Epistemology of Development, Evolution, and Genetics
  38. The Evolution of Agency and Other Centers
  39. The Evolution of Reason: Logic as a Branch of Biology
  40. The Philosophy of Experimental Biology
  41. The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy: A Philosophical Study of Biological Taxonomy
  42. The Problem of Animal Generation in Early Modern Philosophy:
  43. The Science of the Struggle for Existence: On the Foundations of Ecology
  44. The Science of the Struggle for Existence: On the Foundations of Ecology
  45. What Functions Explain: Functional Explanation and Self-Reproducing Systems

The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology)

by Marc Ereshefsky

The Poverty of the Linnaean Hierarchy (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology) Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The question of whether biologists should continue to use the Linnaean hierarchy is a hotly debated issue. Invented before the introduction of evolutionary theory, Linnaeus' system of classifying organisms is based on outdated theoretical assumptions, and is thought to be unable to provide accurate biological classifications. Ereshefsky argues that biologists should abandon the Linnaean system and adopt an alternative that is more in line with evolutionary theory. He illustrates how the continued use of this system hampers our ability to classify the organic world, and then goes on to make specific recommendations for a post-Linnaean method of classification.

Review:

"Linnaean classification is pre-Darwinian, yet evolutionary biologists continue to use it to describe life's diversity. In this clearly written and incisive book, Ereshefsky shows that this makes no sense. His message isn't just that the Linnaean system should be junked; in addition, Ereshefsky constructs a better system to take its place. This book is of practical importance to biologists, but its analysis of the relationship between theories and classification schemes will also be of compelling interest to philosophers of science." Elliott Sober, University of Wisconsin"[I]nteresting and thought provokingoI recommend Ereshefskyas book to anyone curious about the issues that taxonomists are currently debating. His radical proposals, like any revolutionary ideas, will no doubt be met with strong resistance." Science"Overall, this book will appeal to systematists who wish to keep pattern and process closely interwoven." NATURE, Feb. 2002"This book is of practical importance to biologists and philosophers of science.... Will do much to encourage open discussion in this important subject area." Southeastern Naturalist

Synopsis:

Argues against the Linnaean system, recommending a system more in line with evolutionary theory.

Description:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 300-211) and index.
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Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. The Historical Turn: 1. The philosophy of classification; 2. A primer of biological taxonomy; 3. History and classification; Part II. The Multiplicity of Nature: 4. Species pluralism; 5. How to be a discerning pluralist; Part III. Hierarchies and Nomenclature: 6. The evolution of the Linnaean hierarchy; 7. Post-Linnaean taxonomy; 8. The future of biological nomenclature.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780521781701
Subtitle:
A Philosophical Study of Biological Taxonomy
Editor:
Ruse, Michael
Editor:
Ruse, Michael
Author:
Ereshefsky, Marc
Author:
Ruse, Michael
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Location:
Cambridge, U.K.
Subject:
General
Subject:
Philosophy
Subject:
Biology
Subject:
Life Sciences - Biology - General
Subject:
General Philosophy
Subject:
Biology--Classification--Philosophy
Series:
Cambridge studies in philosophy and biology
Series Volume:
DOER-4
Publication Date:
January 2001
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
Professional and scholarly
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
316
Dimensions:
9.28x6.40x.87 in. 1.26 lbs.
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