Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 40 |
| Journal | History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Oct 2019 |
Abstract
The taxa that appear in biological classifications are commonly seen as representing information about the traits of their member organisms. This paper examines in what way taxa feature in the storage and retrieval of such information. I will argue that taxa do not actually store much information about the traits of their member organisms. Rather, I want to suggest, taxa should be understood as functioning to localize organisms in the genealogical network of life on Earth. Taxa store information about where organisms are localized in the network, which is important background information when it comes to establishing knowledge about organismal traits, but it is not itself information about these traits. The view of species and higher taxa that is proposed here follows from examining three problems that occur in contemporary biological systematics and are discussed here: the problem of generalization over taxa, the problem of phylogenetic inference, and the problematic nature of the Tree of Life.
Keywords
- Inference, Phylogenetic inference, Species, Systematic biology, Tree of Life
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- History
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- History and Philosophy of Science
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In: History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, Vol. 41, No. 4, 40, 07.10.2019.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Taxa hold little information about organisms
T2 - Some inferential problems in biological systematics
AU - Reydon, Thomas A. C.
N1 - Funding Information: I am indebted to two anonymous reviewers and to the guest editors of this special issue for helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
PY - 2019/10/7
Y1 - 2019/10/7
N2 - The taxa that appear in biological classifications are commonly seen as representing information about the traits of their member organisms. This paper examines in what way taxa feature in the storage and retrieval of such information. I will argue that taxa do not actually store much information about the traits of their member organisms. Rather, I want to suggest, taxa should be understood as functioning to localize organisms in the genealogical network of life on Earth. Taxa store information about where organisms are localized in the network, which is important background information when it comes to establishing knowledge about organismal traits, but it is not itself information about these traits. The view of species and higher taxa that is proposed here follows from examining three problems that occur in contemporary biological systematics and are discussed here: the problem of generalization over taxa, the problem of phylogenetic inference, and the problematic nature of the Tree of Life.
AB - The taxa that appear in biological classifications are commonly seen as representing information about the traits of their member organisms. This paper examines in what way taxa feature in the storage and retrieval of such information. I will argue that taxa do not actually store much information about the traits of their member organisms. Rather, I want to suggest, taxa should be understood as functioning to localize organisms in the genealogical network of life on Earth. Taxa store information about where organisms are localized in the network, which is important background information when it comes to establishing knowledge about organismal traits, but it is not itself information about these traits. The view of species and higher taxa that is proposed here follows from examining three problems that occur in contemporary biological systematics and are discussed here: the problem of generalization over taxa, the problem of phylogenetic inference, and the problematic nature of the Tree of Life.
KW - Inference
KW - Phylogenetic inference
KW - Species
KW - Systematic biology
KW - Tree of Life
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85073048831&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s40656-019-0281-y
DO - 10.1007/s40656-019-0281-y
M3 - Article
VL - 41
JO - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
JF - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
SN - 0391-9714
IS - 4
M1 - 40
ER -