Linnaeus, The Binomaical Nomenclature And Ethical Issues Essay, Research Paper

In the early 18th century, bluebells were bluebells, it didn’t matter where they came from, when they bloomed or what their leaves looked like — if the flowers were blue, that was pretty much good enough. By the same token, mushrooms were mushrooms, some were palatable, some were offensive and some would induce death, but they were all mushrooms.

Swedish botanist Carl von Linn?, better known as Linnaeus, recognized how the casual terminology of his time couldn’t accurately name the species of Europe, much less the discoveries in the New World. As a result of his sincere love for plants, he developed the system of classifying organisms by kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. The genus and species name for any particular organism became its scientific name in this new framework of binomial nomenclature. Nature doesn’t always obligingly organize itself into this classification system, and the textbook kingdoms at the top have recently been reworked, but this naming system has persisted largely intact to the present day.

Though Linnaeus? classification tactics formed the building block for modern biology, many aspects of his research posed ethical problems in a twenty-first century society, especially in the delicate web that is the eco system. The eco system is a system involving interacting populations of species within a particular environment. An ecosystem is composed of both biotic and abiotic components; these components have many obvious connections to one another and other connections that are not readily obvious. Tampering with this fragile, priceless correlation could endanger the natural existence and balance of the system.

During Linnaeus? era, colonization of the New World was a lucrative prospect for the Europeans, specimens of flora and fauna were brought form all corners of the globe, and the ethics and morality of interference in this harmonious balance did not apply. The ambition of discovery fueled these immoral operations of raping the world of its natural riches, without second thought of the ethical defiance and potential ill-fated repercussions.

In a contemporary society, these ethical and environmental felonies would not be tolerated, alterations of the Eco System are not prided, and universal laws condemn the displacement of elements specific to a region, regardless of its purpose. As an enlightened commonwealth, society today realizes the potential dangers that result in the tampering of the environment, and the unfortunate truth that without the maintenance of this ticklish balance, the world, as celebrated today, would cease to exist.

Linnaeus? route to implementing the binomial nomenclature, when correlated with today?s ethically and environmentally correct society, created issues of moral delinquency. Yet a fact that cannot be overshadowed remains that though Linnaeus lacked moral guidance, his hierarchical classification, though much modified, has remained standard for over 2000 years.

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