Essay on Classification (Classic Reprint), by Louis Agassiz
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Essay on Classification (Classic Reprint), by Louis Agassiz
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Excerpt from Essay on ClassificationHaving, however, made no essential alterations in this Essay on Classification, it may not be out of place for me to repeat here such parts of the preface to the first edition as may explain the special purpose of the treatise, and also the frequent allusions, which could not have been omitted without remodelling the whole, referring to chapters which belong to other parts of the work.The preface to the complete work above alluded to states that, in consequence of the liberality of the subscription in America, "this volume, which, according to the original plan, was designed to be one of special descriptive Zoölogy, contains, in addition to a description of the North American Turtles, a review of the classification of the whole animal kingdom. I have also endeavoured to make it a text-book of reference for the student, in which he may find notices of all that has been accomplished in the various departments of Natural History alluded to, and which I trust young naturalists will take, not only as an indication of what has been done, but as an earnest of what remains to be done in the fields now open to our investigation.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Essay on Classification (Classic Reprint), by Louis Agassiz- Published on: 2015-09-27
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.02" h x .86" w x 5.98" l, 1.23 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 420 pages
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A TRUE "CLASSIC" IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE By Steven H Propp Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), was a Swiss-born and European-trained biologist and geologist, who became a professor of zoology and geology at Harvard, and founded its Museum of Comparative Zoology. He was an opponent of Darwinian evolution, and his late writings supporting "polygenism" have diminished his reputation in the modern world. He also wrote Principles of Zoology. [NOTE: page numbers below refer to a 268-page hardcover edition.]He wrote in the first chapter of this 1857 book (published two years before Darwin's He wrote in the first chapter of this 1857 book (published two years before Darwin's The Origin of Species), "In considering these various topics... I shall, however, avoid controversy as much as possible and only try to render the results of my own studies and meditations in as clear a manner as I possibly can..." (Pg. 4) He adds, "The division of animals according to branch, class, order, family, genus, species, by which we express the results of our investigations into the relations of the animal kingdom... seem to me to deserve the consideration of all thoughtful minds. Are these divisions artificial or natural? Are they devices of the human mind to classify and arrange our knowledge... to bring it more readily within our grasp... or have they been instituted by the Divine Intelligence as the categories of his mode of thinking? Have we perhaps thus far been only the unconscious interpreters of a Divine conception in our attempts to expound nature?... do we not find in this adaptability of the human intellect to the facts of creation... by which we become ... unconsciously, translators of the thoughts of God, the most conclusive proof of our affinity with the Divine Mind?" (Pg. 8-9)He continues, "If it can be proved that man has not invented, but only traced this systematic arrangement in nature, that these relations and proportions which exist throughout the animal and vegetable world have an intellectual, and ideal connection in the mind of the Creator... that this plan of creation, which so commends itself to our highest wisdom, has not grown out of the necessary action of physical laws, but was the free conception of the Almighty Intellect... before it was manifested in tangible external forms---if, in short, we can prove premeditation prior to the act of creation, we have done once and for ever with the desolate theory which refers us to the laws of matter as accounting for all the wonders of the universe and leaves us with no God but the monotonous, unvarying action of physical forces, binding all things to their inevitable destiny." (Pg. 10) He concludes, "without a consideration of all the facts furnished by the study of the habits of animals, by their anatomy, their embryology, and the history of the past ages of our globe, we shall never arrive at the knowledge of the natural system of animals." (Pg. 13)He admits, however, about creatures, that "the manner in which they were called into existence remains for the present a mystery." (Pg. 15) But he asserts that "the elements in which the plants and animals live (and under this expression I mean to include all that is commonly called physical agents, physical causes, etc.) cannot in any way be considered as the cause of their existence." (Pg. 36) He states, "It is therefore quite possible that the different races of domesticated animals were originally distinct species, more or less mixed now, as the different races of men are. Moreover, neither domesticated animals nor cultivated plants, nor the races of men, are the proper subjects for an investigation respecting the fixity or mutability of species, as all involve already the question at issue in the premises which are assumed in introducing them as evidence in the case." (Pg. 63) He proposes that "the order of their succession and their immutability during such cosmic periods show no causal connection with physical agents... but argue in favor of repeated interventions on the part of the Creator." (Pg. 64)He also concedes, "I confess I could not say in what the mental faculties of a child differ from those of a young Chimpanzee." (Pg. 68) However, he adds, "[individuality] argues strongly in favor of the existence in every animal of an immaterial principle similar to that which, by its excellence and superior endowments, places man so much above animals. Yet the principle exists unquestionably, and whether it be called soul, reason, or instinct, it presents in the whole range of organized beings a series of phenomena closely linked together; and upon it are based not only the higher manifestations of the mind, but the very permanence of the specific differences which characterize every organism. Most of the arguments of philosophy in favor of the immortality of man apply equally to the permanency of this principle in other living beings... may we not look to a spiritual concert of the combined worlds and all their inhabitants in presence of their Creator as the highest conception of Paradise?" (Pg. 74-76)He summarizes, "All organized beings exhibit in themselves all those categories of structure and existence upon which a natural system may be founded, in such a manner that, in tracing it, the human mind is only translating into human language the Divine thoughts expressed in nature in living realities... all these facts in their natural connection proclaim aloud the one God, whom man may know, adore, and love; and Natural History must in good time become the analysis of the thoughts of the Creator of the Universe, as manifested in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, as well as in the inorganic world." (Pg. 136-137)He outlines, "I find that these divisions cover all categories of relationship which exist among animals, as far as their structure is concerned. BRANCHES or TYPES are characterized by the plan of their structure; CLASSES, by the manner in which that plan is executed, as far as ways and means are concerned; ORDERS, by the degrees of complication of that structure; FAMILIES, by their form, as far as determined by structure; GENERA, by the details of the execution in special parts; and SPECIES, by the relations of individuals to one another and to the world in which they live, as well as by the proportions of their parts, their ornamentation, etc." (Pg. 179)This book will be of great interest to anyone studying the historical development of Natural History.
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