ANT 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: James Ussher, Carl Linnaeus, Catastrophism
31 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
Biological variation is the seed of adaptation (?) Divine creation: through 14th c. the genesis version of divine creation accepted as explanation for biological diversity, including the following beliefs: Earth was young (4004 bc according to archbishop ussher (1581-1656)) Species we unchanging ( fixity of species - the animal"s god created did not change) Species arranged in hierarchy, with humans at top ( great chain of being used to determine what each level deserved: challenges to doctrine. Discovery of new world and circumnavigation of globe exposed europeans to diversity never seen before. In 1514, copernicus challenged aristotle"s notion that earth was fixed at the center of universe; later elaborated by galileo. Other discoveries in physics and biology suggested that phenomena were governed by natural laws (e. g. , gravity) Through 18th c. most still attributed creation to divine forces, but now phenomena were investigated, not accepted as unknowable.
