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SYSTEMATICS AND APPRECIATION OF REALITY
Author(s) -
Smith Albert C.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
taxon
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1996-8175
pISSN - 0040-0262
DOI - 10.2307/1218586
Subject(s) - circumstantial evidence , systematics , epistemology , contemplation , speculation , comprehension , biology , taxonomy (biology) , evolutionary biology , ecology , computer science , history , philosophy , macroeconomics , archaeology , economics , programming language
Summary Taxonomy is defined as a technique of systematics, which in turn is an aspect of evolutionary biology. The thesis is developed that, among scientists dealing with life, systematists are in a unique position to appreciate the reality of evolutionary processes and to help interpret them. The primary questions propounded by students of historical evolution delimit the area of systematic biology as the study of organisms in time and in space. While systematics is completely dependent upon other disciplines for its basic data, those data derived from observational approaches remain essential in providing the outline of the probable course of events in the past. Speculation, hypothesis, and cumulative circumstantial evidence are all valid parts of these approaches. Data derived from experimental approaches are also essential in clarifying matters of detail and in defining unexplored areas of endeavor. The systematist, to perform effective research, is required to adopt an external philosophical viewpoint in his contemplation of life on this planet and the prior phases of atomic evolution. This viewpoint, rejecting any but natural causes, is that of the cosmic optimist. Within the limits imposed by time, intellectual competence, and the currently available evidence, this viewpoint can most satisfactorily lead to a comprehension and an appreciation of reality.