There are two types of classification - artificial and natural. AT artificial classification based on one or more easily distinguishable features. It is created and used to solve practical problems, when the main thing is ease of use and simplicity. The already mentioned classification system adopted in ancient China was also an artificial classification. Linnaeus united all worm-like organisms into one group Vermes. This group included extremely diverse animals: from simple round ones (nematodes) and earthworms to snakes. Linnaeus's classification is also artificial, because it did not take into account important natural relationships - in particular the fact that snakes, for example, have a backbone, while an earthworm does not. In fact, snakes have more in common with other vertebrates than with worms. An example of an artificial classification is their division into freshwater, marine, and fish inhabiting brackish water bodies. This classification is based on the preference of these animals for certain environmental conditions. This division is convenient for studying the mechanisms of osmoregulation. Similarly, all organisms that can be seen using are called microorganisms (Section 2.2), thus combining them into a single group that is convenient for studying, but does not reflect natural relationships.

natural classification is an attempt to exploit the natural relationships between organisms. In this case, more data is taken into account than in artificial classification, while not only external, but also internal features are taken into account. Similarities in embryogenesis, morphology, anatomy, cellular structure and behavior are taken into account. Nowadays, natural and phylogenetic classifications are more often used. Phylogenetic classification based on evolutionary relationships. In this system, according to existing ideas, organisms that have a common ancestor are combined into one group. The phylogeny (evolutionary history) of a particular group can be represented in the form of a family tree, such as, for example, as shown in Fig. 2.3.

Rice. 2.3. The evolutionary tree of life, covering five kingdoms according to the classification of Margelis and Schwartz (section 2.2). The length of the lines does not reflect the duration of the corresponding period.

Along with the classifications already discussed, there are also phenotypic classification. Such a classification is an attempt to avoid the problem of establishing evolutionary relationship, which is sometimes very difficult and very controversial, especially in cases where the necessary fossil remains are too few or non-existent. The word "phenotypic" comes from the Greek. phainomenon, i.e. "what we see". This classification is based solely on external, i.e. visible, signs (phenotypic similarity), and all considered signs are considered equally important. A wide variety of signs of the body can be taken into account according to the principle of the more, the better. And it is not at all necessary that they reflect evolutionary connections. When a certain amount of data is accumulated, the degree of similarity between different organisms is calculated from them; this is usually done by computer as the calculations are extremely complex. The use of computers for this purpose is called numerical taxonomies. Phenotypic classifications often resemble phylogenetic classifications, although such a goal is not pursued in their creation.

The classifications are divided into natural and artificial.

Natural classification is the classification of objects according to important, essential features for them.

Artificial classification - classification of objects according to their secondary, insignificant features.

Examples of artificial classifications are the alphabetical classification of books in a library, the classification of lawyers by height, and so on.

Classifications are widely used in science, and it is natural that the most complex and perfect of them are found here.

A brilliant example of scientific classification is the periodic table of elements by D.I. Mendeleev. It captures the regular relationships between chemical elements and establishes the place of each of them in a single table. Summing up the results of the previous development of the chemistry of the elements, this system marked the beginning of a new period in their study. It made it possible to make fully confirmed predictions about yet unknown elements.

The classification of plants by the Swedish biologist K. Linnaeus is widely known, who arranged the objects of observation - elements of living and inanimate nature - in a strict order, based on their clear and specific features. This classification would have to reveal the basic principles that determine the structure of the world, and give a complete and deep explanation of nature.

The leading idea of ​​Linnaeus was the opposition of natural and artificial classifications. If artificial classification uses for ordering objects their insignificant features, up to a reference to the initial letters of the names of these objects, then natural classification is based on essential features, from which many derived properties of ordered objects follow. Artificial classification gives very meager and shallow knowledge about its objects; natural classification brings them into a system containing the most important information about them.

As Linnaeus and his followers believed, comprehensive natural classifications are the highest goal of studying nature and the crown of its scientific knowledge.

Modern ideas about the role of classifications have changed markedly. The opposition between natural and artificial classifications has largely lost its sharpness. It is far from always possible to clearly separate the essential from the non-essential, especially in living nature. The objects studied by science are, as a rule, complex systems of intertwined and interdependent properties. It is most often possible to single out the most significant of them, leaving aside all the others, only abstractly. Moreover, what seems essential in one respect usually turns out to be much less important when it is considered in another. In addition, the process of comprehending the essence of even a simple object is endless.

Thus, the role of classification, including natural classification, in the knowledge of nature should not be overestimated. Moreover, its importance in the field of complex and dynamic social objects should not be exaggerated. The hope of a comprehensive and fundamentally complete classification is clearly a utopia, even if it is only about inanimate nature. Living beings, very complex and in the process of constant change, are extremely difficult to fit even into the headings of the proposed limited classifications and do not take into account the boundaries established by man.

Understanding a certain artificiality of the most natural classifications and noting even elements of arbitrariness in them, one should not, however, go to the other extreme and belittle their importance.

Difficulties with classification have most often an objective reason. The point is not the lack of insight of the human mind, but the complexity of the world around us, the absence of rigid boundaries and clearly defined classes in it. The general variability of things, their "fluidity" further complicates and blurs this picture. Therefore, not everything and not always can be clearly classified. Anyone who is constantly focused on drawing clear dividing lines runs the risk of ending up in an artificial, self-created world that has little in common with the dynamic, full of shades and transitions of the real world.

The most difficult object to classify is, without a doubt, a person. Types of people, their temperaments, actions, feelings, aspirations, actions, etc. - these are so thin and fluid "matter" that successful attempts to typify them are very rare.

The classification of people taken in the unity of their inherent properties causes great difficulties. It is difficult to classify even certain aspects of a person's mental life and his activity.

It can be noted that there is no generally accepted natural classification within which legal norms would turn out to be a special case of norms; there is no clear classification of a person's mental states, in which the difference between the states of physiological and pathological affect, important for criminal law, has found its place and justification, etc.

In this connection, it must be emphasized that one should not be overly picky about classifying that which, by its very nature, opposes strict distinctions.

Each person is unique and at the same time has features in common with other people. To distinguish one person from another, we use such concepts as temperament, character, personality. In everyday communication, they have a fairly specific meaning and help us understand ourselves and others. However, there are no strict definitions of these concepts, and, accordingly, there is no distinct division of people according to temperaments and characters.

The ancient Greeks divided people into choleric, melancholic, sanguine and phlegmatic. Already in our time, I.P. Pavlov improved this classification and extended it to all higher mammals. In Pavlov, a strong excitable unbalanced type corresponds to choleric, and a weak one to melancholic; a sanguine person is a strong balanced type, and a phlegmatic person is a strong balanced inert type. A strong unbalanced type is prone to rage, a weak one to fear, a sanguine person is characterized by a predominance of positive emotions, and a phlegmatic person does not show any violent emotional reactions to the environment at all. “The excitable type in its highest manifestation,” Pavlov wrote, “is mostly people of an aggressive nature, the extreme inhibited ting is what is called a cowardly animal”

Pavlov himself did not overestimate the importance of this classification of temperaments and the possibility of applying it to specific people. He spoke, in particular, not only about the four indicated types of temperament, but also about “specially human types of artists and thinkers”: the former have a figurative-concrete signal system, while the latter have an abstract-generalized speech system. In its purest form, none from types of temperament cannot, perhaps, be found in anyone.

Ecosystems are one of the key concepts of ecology, which is a system that includes several components: a community of animals, plants and microorganisms, a characteristic habitat, a whole system of relationships through which the interchange of substances and energies is carried out.

In science, there are several classifications of ecosystems. One of them divides all known ecosystems into two large classes: natural, created by nature, and artificial, those created by man. Let's look at each of these classes in more detail.

natural ecosystems

As noted above, natural, natural ecosystems were formed as a result of the action of the forces of nature. They are characterized by:

• Close relationship between organic and inorganic substances
• A complete, vicious circle of the circulation of substances: starting from the appearance of organic matter and ending with its decay and decomposition into inorganic components.
• Resilience and ability to self-heal.

All natural ecosystems are defined by the following features:

• 1. species structure: the number of each species of animal or plant is regulated by natural conditions.
  2. Spatial structure: all organisms are arranged in a strict horizontal or vertical hierarchy. For example, in a forest ecosystem, tiers are clearly distinguished, in an aquatic ecosystem, the distribution of organisms depends on the depth of the water.
  3. Biotic and abiotic substances. The organisms that make up an ecosystem are divided into inorganic (abiotic: light, air, soil, wind, humidity, pressure) and organic (biotic - animals, plants).
  4. In turn, the biotic component is divided into producers, consumers and destroyers. Producers include plants and bacteria, which, with the help of sunlight and energy, create organic matter from inorganic substances. Consumers are animals and carnivorous plants that feed on this organic matter. Destroyers (fungi, bacteria, some microorganisms) are the crown of the food chain, as they produce the reverse process: organics are converted into inorganic substances.

The spatial boundaries of each natural ecosystem are very conditional. In science, it is customary to define these boundaries by the natural contours of the relief: for example, a swamp, lake, mountains, rivers. But in the aggregate, all the ecosystems that make up the bioenvelope of our planet are considered open, as they interact with the environment and space. In the most general view, the picture looks like this: living organisms receive energy, cosmic and terrestrial substances from the environment, and at the output - sedimentary rocks and gases, which eventually go into space.

All components of the natural ecosystem are closely interconnected. The principles of this connection are formed over the years, sometimes centuries. But that is why they become so stable, since these connections and climatic conditions determine the types of animals and plants that live in this area. Any imbalance in the natural ecosystem can lead to its disappearance or attenuation. Such a violation can be, for example, deforestation, extermination of a population of a particular species of animals. In this case, the food chain is immediately disrupted, and the ecosystem begins to "fail".

By the way, the introduction of additional elements into ecosystems can also disrupt it. For example, if a person starts breeding animals in the selected ecosystem that were not there initially. A vivid confirmation of this is the breeding of rabbits in Australia. At first it was profitable, because in such a fertile environment and excellent climatic conditions for breeding, rabbits began to multiply with incredible speed. But in the end it all came crashing down. Countless hordes of rabbits devastated pastures where sheep used to graze. The number of sheep began to decline. A person receives much more food from one sheep than from 10 rabbits. This case even entered the proverb: "Rabbits ate Australia." It took an incredible effort of scientists and great expenses before they managed to get rid of the rabbit population. It was not possible to completely exterminate their population in Australia, but their numbers declined and no longer threatened the ecosystem.

artificial ecosystems

Artificial ecosystems are communities of animals and plants that live in conditions created for them by man. They are also called noobiogeocenoses or socioecosystems. Examples: field, pasture, city, society, spaceship, zoo, garden, artificial pond, reservoir.

The simplest example of an artificial ecosystem is an aquarium. Here, the habitat is limited by the walls of the aquarium, the influx of energy, light and nutrients is carried out by man, he also regulates the temperature and composition of the water. The number of inhabitants is also initially determined.

First feature: all artificial ecosystems are heterotrophic, i.e. consuming prepared food. Take, for example, a city, one of the largest man-made ecosystems. The influx of artificially created energy (gas pipeline, electricity, food) plays a huge role here. At the same time, such ecosystems are characterized by a high yield of toxic substances. That is, those substances that in the natural ecosystem later serve for the production of organic matter often become unusable in artificial ones.

Another distinctive feature of artificial ecosystems is the open cycle of metabolism. Take, for example, agro-ecosystems - the most important for humans. These include fields, orchards, vegetable gardens, pastures, farms and other agricultural lands on which a person creates conditions for the removal of consumer products. A part of the food chain in such ecosystems is taken out by a person (in the form of a crop), and therefore the food chain becomes destroyed.

The third difference between artificial ecosystems and natural ones is their species scarcity.. Indeed, a person creates an ecosystem for the sake of breeding one (rarely several) species of plants or animals. For example, in a wheat field, all pests and weeds are destroyed, only wheat is cultivated. This makes it possible to get the best harvest. But at the same time, the destruction of organisms "unprofitable" for humans makes the ecosystem unstable.

Comparative characteristics of natural and artificial ecosystems

It is more convenient to present a comparison of natural ecosystems and socio-ecosystems in the form of a table:

natural ecosystems	artificial ecosystems
The main component is solar energy.	Mainly gets energy from fuel and cooked food (heterotrophic)
Forms fertile soil	Depletes the soil
All natural ecosystems absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.	Most artificial ecosystems consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide.
Great species diversity	Limited number of species of organisms
High stability, ability to self-regulation and self-healing	Weak sustainability, as such an ecosystem depends on human activities
closed metabolism	Unclosed metabolic chain
Creates habitats for wild animals and plants	Destroys wildlife habitats
Accumulates water, using it wisely and purifying	High water consumption, its pollution

ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION

ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION

classification, in which the location of concepts in the classification. The scheme occurs on the basis of the similarity or difference of the objects of concepts in insignificant, albeit their own, features. I. to. often plays the role of an initial stage in relation to natural classification and does not replace it until it is possible to discover creatures. object links. An example of I. to. is botanical. Linnaeus, based on such features as the way the stamens are connected in the flower of plants. The term "I. to." often used along with the term "auxiliary", denoting such a construction of the classification. schemes, in which concepts are arranged according to their purely external, but easily observable features. This makes it easier to find concepts in the schema and find matches. items. The most common auxiliary classifications based on the alphabetical arrangement of concept names: alphabetical catalogs in libraries, arrangement of surnames in various lists, etc. See Classification (in formal logic) and lit. with this article.

B. Yakushin. Moscow.

Philosophical Encyclopedia. In 5 volumes - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by F. V. Konstantinov. 1960-1970 .

See what "ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION" is in other dictionaries:

Multistage, branched division of the logical scope of the concept. The result of K. is a system of subordinate concepts: the divisible concept is a genus, new concepts are species, species of species (subspecies), etc. The most complex and perfect K. ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

logical classification- LOGICAL CLASSIFICATION (from Latin classis category, class and facio I do, lay out) a special kind of division (taxonomic or mereological) or a system of divisions. Taxonomic division is the allocation in the scope of the concept of subclasses ...

See classification. (Source: "Microbiology: a dictionary of terms", Firsov N.N., M: Bustard, 2006) ... Dictionary of microbiology

classification- CLASSIFICATION (from Lat. classis rank and facere to do) is such a system of knowledge, the concepts of which mean ordered groups, according to which objects of a certain subject area are distributed based on their similarity in certain properties. TO.… … Encyclopedia of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

A breakdown of a set of organisms based on their characteristics according to a certain system of hierarchically subordinate groups - taxa (classes, families, genera, species, etc.). There are natural and artificial classifications. natural, or... Dictionary of microbiology

This term has other meanings, see Neural network (meanings). Diagram of a simple neural network. Input neurons are marked in green, hidden neurons in blue, output neuron in yellow ... Wikipedia

"Neural network" redirects here. See also other meanings. Diagram of a simple neural network. Green indicates input elements, yellow output element Artificial neural networks (ANN) mathematical models, as well as their software or ... ... Wikipedia

Multistage, branched division of the logical scope of the concept. The result of K. is a system of subordinate concepts: the divisible concept is a genus, new concepts are types, types of species (subspecies), etc. The most complex and perfect K. ... ... Glossary of Logic Terms

Classification of organisms according to arbitrarily selected characteristics, which has a purely applied value. Geological dictionary: in 2 volumes. M.: Nedra. Edited by K. N. Paffengolts et al. 1978 ... Geological Encyclopedia

Exist two types of classification - artificial and natural. In an artificial classification based on one or more easily distinguishable features. It is created and used to solve practical problems, when the main thing is ease of use and simplicity.

artificial classification there was also the already mentioned classification system adopted in ancient China. Linnaeus united all worm-like organisms into one group Vermes. This group included extremely diverse animals: from simple round ones (nematodes) and earthworms to snakes. Linnaeus's classification is also artificial, because it did not take into account important natural relationships - in particular the fact that snakes, for example, have a spine, while an earthworm does not. In fact, snakes have more in common with other vertebrates than with worms. An example of an artificial classification of fish is their division into freshwater, marine, and fish inhabiting brackish water bodies.

This classification based on the preference of these animals for certain environmental conditions.

The evolutionary tree of life, covering five kingdoms according to the classification of Margelis and Schwartz. The length of the lines does not reflect the duration of the corresponding period.

This division is convenient for studying the mechanisms of osmoregulation. Likewise, all organisms, which can be seen with a microscope, are called microorganisms, thus combining them into a single group, convenient for study, but not reflecting natural relationships.

natural classification is an attempt to exploit the natural relationships between organisms. In this case, more data is taken into account than in artificial classification, while not only external, but also internal features are taken into account. Similarities in embryogenesis, morphology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, cellular structure and behavior are taken into account. Nowadays, natural and phylogenetic classifications are more often used. Phylogenetic classification is based on evolutionary relationships. In this system, according to existing ideas, organisms that have a common ancestor are combined into one group.

Phylogeny(evolutionary history) or another group can be represented in the form of a family tree, such as, for example, as shown in the figure.

Along with those already discussed classifications there is also a phenotypic classification. Such classification represents an attempt to avoid the problem of establishing evolutionary relationship, which is sometimes very difficult and very controversial, especially in cases where the necessary fossil remains are too few or non-existent. The word "phenotypic" comes from the Greek. phainomenon, i.e. "what we see." This classification is based solely on external, i.e., visible, traits (phenotypic similarity), with all traits taken into account being considered equally important. A wide variety of signs of the body can be taken into account according to the principle of the more, the better. And it is not at all necessary that they reflect evolutionary connections. When a certain amount of data is accumulated, the degree of similarity between different organisms is calculated from them; this is usually done by computer as the calculations are extremely complex. The use of computers for this purpose is called numerical taxonomy. Phenotypic classifications often resemble phylogenetic classifications, although such a goal is not pursued in their creation.