Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct And Science
by Carol Kaesuk Yoon /
2010 / English / DjVu
2.1 MB Download
Finalist for the 2009
Finalist for the 2009Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times Book
Prize in Science and Technology. “A lively blend of popular
scientific history and cultural criticism.”―
Book
Prize in Science and Technology. “A lively blend of popular
scientific history and cultural criticism.”―New York Times
Book Review
New York Times
Book ReviewBiologist Carol Kaesuk Yoon explores the historical tension
between evolutionary biology and taxonomy. Carl Linnaeus struggled
in the eighteenth century to define species in light of their
mutability while still relying on intuitive, visual judgments. As
taxonomy modernized, it moved into labs, yielding results
counterintuitive to humanity’s innate predisposition to order the
world. By conceding scientific authority to taxonomists, Yoon
argues, we’ve contributed to our own alienation from nature. 27
black-and-white illustrations
Biologist Carol Kaesuk Yoon explores the historical tension
between evolutionary biology and taxonomy. Carl Linnaeus struggled
in the eighteenth century to define species in light of their
mutability while still relying on intuitive, visual judgments. As
taxonomy modernized, it moved into labs, yielding results
counterintuitive to humanity’s innate predisposition to order the
world. By conceding scientific authority to taxonomists, Yoon
argues, we’ve contributed to our own alienation from nature. 27
black-and-white illustrations
