Predarwin Biology

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Al-Dinawari

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An Islamic, medieval, botanist (826-896). Book of plants gave him the title The Father of Islamic Botany. He discussed how species diversified over time.

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Alhazen

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An Arab polymath and philosopher during the medieval ages. Recognized as the first theoretical physicist. he believed a hypothesis needs to be experimented and confirmed(scientific method ). He described accurately the parts of the eye and give a scientific explanation of the process of vision.

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Aristotle

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A greek philosopher. He classified biotic and abiotic using artificial taxonomy. He put them on a "ladder of life" which ranked organisms by complexity (ranking gods/humans as most complex) writing Scala Natura.

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Artificial Taxonomy

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System classifying organisms based on a superficial characteristic (eg. can or cannot fly). Because it is written it can be memorized easier then folk taxonomy. Also used as a basis for dichotomous keys that are used by biologists to identify organisms.

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Avicenna

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He was one of a number of Islamic scholars who advanced the natural sciences in the Muslim world during the Medieval ages. He composed the Kitāb al-shifāʾ (Book of the Cure), a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and Al-Qānūn fī al-ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine), which is among the most famous books in the history of medicine. Avicenna’s summary of Greek, Indian and Muslim medicine was used until the 17th century.

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BIO-GEOGRAPHY

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The study of the distribution of species in different areas

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Binomen

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This is a name with two parts.

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Binomial nomenclature

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A naming system for living organisms that is composed of two parts; the first the genus and the second a specific epithet.

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Chronological prediction

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is the prediction that involves horoscopes and the foretelling of future events. It is not the type of prediction used in science; science uses logical prediction that is most often expressed as an “if” and “then” statement.

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Classification

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The act of grouping different species and placing them in smaller groups called taxons.

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Control

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In an experiment the control provides results that should happen when there are no changes in variables.

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Cuvier (Georges)

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(1769-1832) French zoologist who developed the theory of catastrophism after looking at layers of fossils and reasoning that each layer represented the remains of organisms that had died in a local catastrophe.

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Deduction

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is from the general to the specific; used in the physical sciencesEmpirical observation,

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Essentialism

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The belief that animals gave birth to the same animal because they have an essence. This was confusing because if the maker made animals why did the same animal have to give birth to it. Supported the idea of dualism.

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Extinction

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The death of the last individual in a species or the last species in a lineage, such as from environmental forces or because of evolutionary changes in the species.

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Fact

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come from theories, which are more generalized observations made through a series of hypotheses. Once there is no longer any doubt the theories become facts. A scientific theory is required to be based on facts.

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Folk Taxonomy

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This is the use of spoken words to classify organisms and It was used to distinguish about 500 species.

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Great Chain of Being

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It is a concept derived from greek pholosiphers Aristotle and Plato. It is comprised of a strict hierarchical structure of living things and life. At the top is God followed by his angels and with the last being the devil.

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Harvey

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(1578-1657) The father of physiology, conducted studies on the human heart and was the first to discover how blood circulates through the body.

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Hierarchical system

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When Linnaeus organized the plants and animals in his Systema naturae he further classified them into categories contained within larger categories – a hierarchical system. His categories included Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Genus, and Species. Family was added latter as a taxon between Order and Genus. The organisms included within any category of the taxonomic hierarchy make up a taxon.

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Hippocrates

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He is the father of medicine. He made the hippocratic corpus- This is the written record of biology

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Historical narrative

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A scenario that is constructed to explain a particular problem based on observed facts related to the theory. Biologist use this to explain unique biological occurrences.

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Hypothesis

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A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence and used as a starting point for further investigation

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Ibn al_Baitar

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Is another Arabic scientist during the medieval ages. He wrote Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al- Mufrada, which is a botanical compilation dealing with medicinal plants in Arabic. He then wrote an encyclopaedia of medicine, which listed drugs in accordance with their therapeutical value.

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Induction

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The process of creating a general principle based on observed fact or instance. Often done in biology to show a pattern in the living world.

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Industrial melanism

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The overall darkening, such as of skin, feathers and fur of a population of animals living in an industrial region where the environment is darkened by soot. This takes place over many generations and increases the probability of the species’ survival, where conspicuous, lighter animals are eaten by predators as a result of natural selection.

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Lamarck (Jean-Baptiste)

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(1829) French naturalist and evolutionary theorist. He was the first scientist to claim that humans evolved from apes. His hypothesis rested on four key points. All species change through time; Changes are passed from one generation to the next; Organisms change in response to their environments; hypothesized the existence of specific mechanics that cause evolutionary change. Differed from Darwin’s theory.

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Law

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In the scientific world it defines a phenomemom that through observation has found to always occur when certain conditions are met or exist. Does not explain why something why happens.

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Leclerc (George-Louis - Buffon)

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He looked further into evolution and he said that when a particular body part of an organism isn't used then it becomes useless. This body part is known as a Vestigial Structure.

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Linnaean taxonomy

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A form of biological hierarchical classification set up by Carl Linnaeus that was set forth in his novel Systema Naturae (don’t mix up with Scala Naturae). In this taxonomy there are three kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera and species.

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Linnaeus (Carolus)

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Linnaeus was the first modern practitioner of taxonomy. He sent out students to describe and catalogue new species. To organize these species he invented a system of binomial nomenclature in which each species is given a unique two part name. He organized the new found species into the hierarchical system. This was the first usage of Mechanical taxonomy as he organized the species based on their descriptions rather than the knowledge of evolution.

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Logical prediction

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A method used in science which is the act of making an educated guess based on observation Mechanical Taxonomy,

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Middle ages

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450 - 16th century, came after the fall of the Roman empire. During this time occurred one of the most devastating epidemics in history, the Black Plague (1300s).

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Natural sciences

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studies of animate objects and more than physical and chemical laws (Genetics). These theories are not universal and are based on historical narratives. Induction most used method (from the specific to the general). There are multiple theories for a single explanation and a single falsification is not necessary to abandon a theory.

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Null hypothesis

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It explains what happens when the manipulated variable in an experiment doesn’t have an effect.

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Organicists

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(1930) People with a philosophical perspective of organicism, which is a view that some systems act as one organism and have parts that function in relation to a whole. (ex: swarm behaviour of birds). This was the force which replaced the vitalists and was in favour of the genetic program and the importance of emergence.

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Physical sciences

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focuses on Inanimate objects and Physical and chemical laws. This science is Universal. The theories are based on empirical observations; experimentation preferred method Deduction (from the general to the specific). Single theory however if a single falsification is enough to abandon a theory

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Physicalists

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A person that belief that only the physical things are real. During the Greek and Roman time these form of people maintained the conviction that all living things( except humans) were machines that can be reduced to it various mechanical parts. Primary reference,

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Proximate causes

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Events closest to and immediately responsible for causing an observed result.

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Sampling Error

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The error created from sampling not enough of the population to get a distribution. Usually that is about 10% of the population. To avoid this increase the sample size.

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Scala naturae

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Aristotle organized the living world in his scala naturae (ladder of life) where the gods, were at the top of the great chain of being with humans underneath them. At the bottom was the inert world and the elements; and in between all the other types of living things. With Fall of Rome under the attack of the Germanic Goths the western world falls into disarray and the medieval age starts. This got reformed under the church to only include one god, got changed into the great chain of being. Aristotle and Theophrastus were the first to use artificial taxonomies, also called artificial taxonomies, to organize the living world. Scala naturae involved essentialism, as every species were created and did not change.

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Secondary reference

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This is not as scientifically sound as primary referencing. It is written by someone in a field but he/she didn’t do all the findings.

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Special creation

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The belief, in accordance with the book of Genesis, that every species was created by God on October 23, 4004 BC in the form that it exists today and that it can not undergo any change or become extinct.

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Taxon (taxa)

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Smaller groups in which organisms were grouped in.

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Taxonomy

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Rules that are used to classify things. The botanist Linnaeus used this method in a hierarchical system to organize the diversity of animals and plants

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Tertiary reference

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is a source that is an index and/or textual joining of primary and secondary sources. Tertiary literature is written by the scientists and is often a very general summary. An example would be a textbook.

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Theophrastus

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(371-287 BC) Pupil of Aristotle, wrote Historia Plantarum in which he organised plants and wrote about their structure, reproduction and growth. He was most famous for his descriptions of medicinal plants.

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Theory

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A well founded finding that can be seen and understood.

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Ultimate causes

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Ultimate cause: It s associated with the "why" element of a question. Describes the underlying reason something occurs.

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Van Leeuwenhoek

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He made the first microscope. Also, he never told anyone the method he used in making it till he died and all knowledge was gone.

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Vesalius

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(1542) The founder of modern human anatomy, dissected human cadavers to be able to identify the placements of bones and muscles in the body. He published an accurate atlas of human structure, De Humani Corporis Fabrica.