Biological Systematics

Igor Ya. Pavlinov is at the Zoological Museum of the Moscow Lomonosov State University in Moscow, Russia.

• Table of contentsPreface IntroductionChapter 1. A brief outline of systematics1.1. What is the Natural System1.2. What is biological systematics1.2.1. The structure of systematics1.2.2. What does systematics study1.2.3. How does systematics study 1.2.4. What does systematics study forChapter 2. Conceptual history of systematics2.1. Some preliminary considerations2.1.1. How conceptual history can be written 2.1.2. History of systematics as an evolutionary process2.1.3. Major steps in the history of systematics2.2. Prehistory of systematics2.2.1. An initial step: Folk systematics2.2.2. Becoming aware of The Method 2.2.3. The Herbal Epoch2.3. The beginning of systematics: Scholastic revolution2.3.1. Major features2.3.2. Major stages2.4. Emergence of biological systematics: Anti-scholastic revolution2.4.1. Major non-scholastic motives2.4.2. The natural systematics2.4.3. The origin of typology2.4.4. The "taxonomic esotericism"2.5. A step forward: Evolutionary revolution2.5.1. First ideas2.5.2. First debates2.6. A step aside: Positivist revolution2.7. Homage to metaphysics: Post-positivist revolutionChapter 3. Some philosophical considerations3.1. Classical and non-classical science3.2. Cognitive situation3.2.1. Cognitive triangle 3.2.2. Conceptual space3.2.3. Conceptual pyramid3.3. Some cognitive regulators3.3.1. Between Umgebung and Umwelts3.3.2. Between holism and reductionism3.3.3. Between realism and nominalism3.3.4. Between monism and pluralism3.4. Knowledge as an information model3.5. The logical bases3.6. Argumentation schemes3.7. Methodologies and methods3.7.1. Scientific status of methodologies and methods 3.7.2. Basic methods Chapter 4. An outline of taxonomic theory4.1. Taxonomic theory as a quasi-axiomatics4.1.1. General and particular taxonomic theories4.1.2. Basic quasi-axioms and principles 4.2. Defining basic notions: Two study cases4.2.1. Taxonomic reality4.2.2. Classification systemChapter 5. Major research programs in systematics5.1. The phenetic program5.2. The rational systematics5.2.1. The onto-rational program5.2.2. The episto-rational program5.3. The numerical program5.3.1. Major features5.3.2. Two basic versions5.3.3. Basic controversies5.4. The typological program5.4.1. Major features5.4.2. Contemporary developments5.5. The biomorphic program5.6. The biosystematic program5.7. The phylogenetic program5.7.1. Major features5.7.2. Evolutionary taxonomy5.7.3. Cladistic systematics5.8. The evolutionary ontogenetic program?Chapter 6. Taxonomic puzzles 6.1. Between natural and artificial classifications6.2. Between taxon and character6.3. Hierarchies: To rank or not to rank?6.4. Between similarity and kinship6.5. What is the (arche)type?6.6. Homology, an unresolved problem6.7. An undiscoverable essence of species?References