ANT101H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Carl Linnaeus, Binomial Nomenclature, Georges Cuvier
28 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Evolution is one of the most fundamental of biological processes, yet one of the most misunderstood. Charles darwin: first to explain the mechanisms of this process, natural selection. The single most important force of evolutionary change. Scientific knowledge is usually gained through a series of small steps rather than giant leaps. Middle ages predominant feature was that all aspect of nature never changed: this idea was influenced by: (1) a society with hierarchal system (2) powerful religious system, and the teachings of christianity were taken literally. Fixity of species all life on earth had been created by god exactly as it existed in the present, and the belief that life-forms couldn"t change. New world influences on europe: earth cannot be thought as flat anymore, awareness of biological diversity was expanded as they became aware of plants and animals they hadn"t seen before. John ray: genus second level of classification; recognized species shared similarities w other species.
