Prof. M. L. Rokhlina

“... in the field of biology, they were mainly engaged in the accumulation and first selection of colossal material, both botanical and zoological, as well as anatomical and proper physiological. Comparison of forms of life among themselves, the study of their geographical distribution, their climatological and other conditions, was still out of the question. Here only botany and zoology have reached some completion thanks to Linnaeus.
ENGELS. Dialectic of nature

Carl Linnaeus.

Science and life // Illustrations

General picture of life according to Linnaeus.

Classification based on external features without taking into account phylogeny led the remarkable classifier Linnaeus to a number of gross errors.

Science and life // Illustrations

One of the most striking figures among the learned naturalists of the XVIII century. was Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). In scientific terms, he stands at the turn of two eras. Linnaeus summarized the entire amount of factual knowledge accumulated since the Renaissance, created a taxonomy of the animal and plant world, and thus, as it were, completed the biology of the metaphysical period. The era of Linnaeus is characterized by two ideas: the recognition of the “creative act” that created the living world, and at the same time the idea of ​​the immutability, constancy of species and their hierarchy, their gradual complication, the idea that saw in the expedient structure of organisms a single plan, imbued with the “wisdom of the creator”.

The prevailing belief was that "Natura non faclt saltus" ("nature does not make leaps").

Engels writes that the period under consideration is especially characterized by "the formation of a single, integral worldview, the center of which is the doctrine of the absolute immutability of nature" (Engels, Dialectics of Nature).

Linnaeus went down in history as the creator of the metaphysical taxonomy of animals and plants, as the author of the formula "there are as many species as they came out of the hands of the creator," a formula he expressed in the first edition of The System of Nature (1735).

Linnaeus was an encyclopedically educated scientist with exceptional memory and powers of observation, and with what was said to be a "systematic streak." Linnaeus systematizes everything - minerals, animals, plants and even diseases (for example, to the first scientific work on medicinal plants “Materia medica”, published by him in 1749, Linnaeus attached the “Catalogue of Diseases”, and indicated how to treat each disease).

But at the same time, Linnaeus was a contemporary of K. F. Wolf, about whom Engels wrote:

“It is characteristic that almost simultaneously with Kant’s attack on the doctrine of the eternity of the solar system, in 1759 K. Wolf made the first attack on the theory of the constancy of species, proclaiming the doctrine of their development” (Engels. D.P.).

In the midst of Linnaeus's scientific work, the works of the great French materialists La Mettrie, Diderot and others are published, in which the ideas of transformism (evolution) of species are expressed. Finally, a contemporary of Linnaeus was Buffon, who, contrary to the prevailing worldview, expressed the idea of ​​a historical connection in nature and said that animals themselves have a history and, perhaps, are able to change.

Thus, the idea of ​​the variability of species already appeared in the sphere of scientific problems of the 18th century, and, naturally, this could not pass by Linnaeus. He had a brilliant knowledge of fauna and flora and could not fail to see transitional, changing species. Therefore, it is no coincidence that “Linnaeus already made a big concession when he said that due to crossing in places new species could arise” (Engels D.P.). In a number of his last works, Linnaeus speaks directly about the variability of species. Thus, during his almost 50 years of scientific activity, he evolved to some extent; it is also no coincidence that the phrase "there are as many species as they came from the hands of the creator" is absent from the 10th edition of the System of Nature, which appeared shortly before the death of Linnaeus. These facts need to be emphasized, since the opinion that Linnaeus stood strictly on the point of view of the permanence of species is widely held. It can be seen from Linnaeus's letters that his insufficiently decisive statements are partly due to the influence of the social environment, in particular, the professorship of Uppsala University, where Linnaeus occupied the chairs of disease diagnostics, pharmacognosy, dietetics and natural sciences for 36 years (1741-1777).

At the end of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the laying of sea trade routes begins, the conquest of previously unknown countries, from which numerous and diverse animals and plants were brought to Europe. Throughout Europe in the 16th and then in the 17th century. botanical gardens are created, which become scientific centers. This era is also characterized by an increased interest in ancient Greek scientists and philosophers.

The systematic description of the animal and plant world, as it is found in Aristotle, Theophrist, Dioscorides, and others, is supplemented and expanded by new botanical and zoological material. There is a need to systematize and classify the huge material that this era provides - a necessity arising from practical interests: “the main task ... was to cope with the material available” (Engels, D.P.). Strictly speaking, only from the XVI century. the first foundations of systematic science begin to be laid. Since that time, a number of works have appeared that try to build classification schemes and tables on different principles. The historical merit of Linnaeus lies precisely in the fact that he completes these numerous attempts, creating the largest simple and perfect system for that time.

“The crown and, probably, the last word of such a classification was the system of the plant kingdom proposed by Linnaeus, which has not yet been surpassed in its elegant simplicity” (K. A. Timiryazev).

The main merits of Linnaeus are as follows:

1. He created a very simple and convenient system of taxonomic units (class, order, family, genus, species), subordinate to one another.

2. Classified the animal and plant world according to his system.

3. Established the species definition for plants and animals.

4. Introduced a double nomenclature to designate species, i.e. generic and specific Latin names, and established such names for animals and plants known to him.

Thus, since the time of Linnaeus, every animal or plant organism has been designated by two Latin names, the name of the genus to which the given animal belongs, and the name of the species; they are usually joined in an abbreviated form by the name of the researcher who first described the given organism.

So for example, an ordinary wolf is designated - Canis lupus L; where the word Canis denotes a genus (dog) - the word lupus is a species (wolf) and the letter L is the surname of the author (Linnaeus), who first described this species.

Similar species according to the Linnaean system are combined into genera (thus the wolf, jackal, fox, domestic dog are combined into the dog genus). Similar genera are combined into families (so the wolf belongs to the canine family); families are united into orders (for example, the canine family belongs to the order of carnivores), orders - into classes (for example, carnivores belong to the class of mammals), classes - into types (mammals belong to the type of chordates).

K. A. Timiryazev emphasizes the importance of binary nomenclature in the following words:

“Just as national literatures especially honor the creators of their language, so the universal language of descriptive natural science should honor its creator in Linnaeus.”

Linnaeus, however, was reproached that his Latin was “not quite Ciceronian,” but Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an ardent admirer of Linnaeus, objected to this: “But it was free for Cicero not to know botany” (according to Timiryazev).

One should not think that everything introduced by Linnaeus was invented by him. So, even John Ray introduced the concept of a species, the binary nomenclature is found in Rivinus and Baugin, and Adanson and Tournefort before Linnaeus combined similar species into genera, etc. However, Linnaeus’s merit does not decrease from this, since his role lies in the fact that he combined all this into a single whole, choosing what corresponded to the creation of harmonious systems of the plant and animal world. Linnaeus himself characterized the meaning of the system in the following way: “The system is Ariadne’s thread of botany; without it, the herbarium business turns into chaos.”

Systema naturae, a work by Linnaeus, appeared in 1735. The first edition appeared as a 12-page synopsis on all three kingdoms of nature, while the last edition appeared in 12 volumes.

Speaking about the works of Linnaeus on systematics, it is impossible not to touch on his other most important works. In 1751, his “Philosophy of Botany” was published, in which the doctrine of the species was set out and in which Liney first applied binary nomenclature, Jean Jacques Rousseau characterized this work as the most philosophical of all that he knows. In 1753, one of the most important works of Linnaeus was published: “Species plautarum” (“Plant Species”), which for the first time gives a complete systematic of the entire plant world known at that time. Speaking of Linnaeus's views on taxonomy, constancy of species, etc., we will have to touch on all three of these works in parallel.

In our brief essay, we will be interested in two questions: 1) the evaluation of the Linnaean system in terms of natural and artificial classification, and 2) Linnaeus's attitude to the ideas of the constancy and variability of species.

Linnaeus himself considered his system as artificial and believed that it should be replaced by a natural system. Classifications before Linnaeus were purely artificial and had a random, arbitrary character. So, one of the first classifications of animals was compiled alphabetically, there were classifications of plants according to their signature (i.e., according to their medicinal value), some scientists (Rey, Tournefort) classified plants according to the corolla, others according to seeds (Cesalpin) or according to fruits ( Gertner). It is clear that all these taxonomists artificially combined the most diverse species according to some one taken arbitrary trait, and the need for a natural classification according to the degree of similarity, kinship between individual species spontaneously grew. A natural classification, unlike an artificial one, is based not on any one arbitrarily chosen trait, but on the basis of a combination of the most important morphophysiological properties, and tries to establish a genetic relationship between different species in the sense of a unity of origin. The Linnaean classification represents a significant step forward compared to all classifications that existed before it. But there is a great difference between his classification of the animal world and the classification of the plant world in regard to their approximation to the natural classification. Consider first the classification of animals.

Linnaeus took the heart of animals as the main feature for classification and divided it into six classes.

This division into six classes represented a significant step forward, refinement and approximation to the natural classification. But at the same time, it contained a number of errors: for example, both reptiles and amphibians were classified as amphibians, and all invertebrates were combined into two classes - worms and insects. The division of classes into detachments contained a number of gross errors, which Linnaeus himself knew and constantly corrected. Thus, the class of mammals was first divided into 7 orders or orders, and the latter were divided into 47 genera; in the 8th Linnaean edition there were 8 orders and 39 genera of mammals, and in the 12th edition there were 8 orders and 40 roles.

Linnaeus approached the division into orders and genera already purely formally, sometimes taking into account one particular feature, such as teeth, and therefore the arrangement of species according to orders is artificial. Along with a very faithful combination of closely related species, he often combined animals that were far from each other into one order or, conversely, distributed close, related species into different orders. So, for the first time in science, Linnaeus united the primate detachment: man, monkeys (higher and lower) and lemurs, but at the same time he mistakenly added a bat to the same place.

The characteristics of the order of primates are as follows: “The front teeth have 4 in the upper jaw, which stand parallel to each other; the fangs stand apart from the others; nipples, of which they have two, lie on the chest, legs - similar to hands - with rounded flat nails. The front legs are separated by the clavicles; they feed on fruits for which they climb trees.

The characteristic of the first genus of the primate order is given as follows: “genus I. Man, Homo, has a direct vertical position, moreover, the female sex has a hymen and monthly cleansing.” Homo (man) is a generic name, and Linnaeus assigns man and the great apes to this genus. In this association of man with anthropoid apes, Linnaeus's great courage for that time was expressed. The attitude of his contemporaries to this can be judged from the letter of Linnaeus to Gmelin:

“It is objectionable that I place man among the anthropomorphic, but man knows himself. Let's leave the words, it doesn't matter to me what name we use, but I ask you and the whole world the generic difference between man and ape, which (would follow) from the foundations of natural history. I most definitely don't know any; if someone pointed out to me at least one thing ... If I called a person a monkey, or, on the contrary, all theologians would attack me. Maybe I should have done it on the duty of science. Further, Linnaeus attributed the rhinoceros, elephant, walrus, sloth, anteater and armadillo to the second order Bruta (heavy animals), uniting them on the basis of the following features: “they have no front teeth at all, legs are equipped with strong nails. The gait is quiet, heavy. They mostly feed on fruits and crush their food. Of these animals, according to the modern classification, the sloth, armadillo and anteater belong to the order of edentulous (Edentata), the elephant to the order of proboscis (Proboscidea), the rhinoceros to the order of equids (Peryssodactyla) and the walrus to the order of carnivores (Cagnivora), suborder of pinnipeds (Pinnipedia).

If Linnaeus combined the genera belonging to four different orders into one order of “heavy” (Bruta), then at the same time the genera belonging to the same order according to the modern natural classification (for example, walrus and seal) fell into different orders (walrus to heavy, seal to animals).

Thus, the Linnaean classification of animals, despite its undeniable positive value, consisting primarily in the fact that it provided a system that scientists could later use, was artificial. Nevertheless, for its time, of course, it played a very important role and was a significant approximation to the natural system in comparison with all previous classifications.

The Linnean classification of plants was more artificial, although it was distinguished by the greatest simplicity and convenience. Line based it on the structure of the reproductive system (the number of stamens and pistils, whether they grow together or remain free). In constructing this system, he proceeded from his law of constancy of numbers, according to which each plant individual is distinguished by a certain number of flower parts (stamens and pistils). According to these characteristics, he divided all plants into 24 classes (i.e., he artificially divided plants according to one characteristic). In turn, the classes were divided into 68 units.

When dividing plants into orders, Linnaeus managed to create a more natural system, almost unchanged in the future. But when asked why he divided plants into groups (orders), Linnaeus referred to “a certain intuitive feeling, a hidden instinct of a naturalist: I cannot give a basis for my orders,” he said, “but those who come after follow me, find these grounds and make sure that I was right. But still, in the taxonomy of plants, Linnaeus did not avoid mistakes. So, according to the number of stamens (2), he combined into one class such distant plants as lilac and one of the cereals - the golden spikelet.

In § 30 of the Philosophy of Botany (p. 170, ed., 1801), Linnaeus writes: “The marriage system (Systema sexuale) is that which is based on the male and female parts of the flower. All plants according to this system are divided into classes (classes), categories (ordines), sub-categories (Subordines), genera (genera), species (species). Classes are the main plant distinctions based on the number, proportionality of the position and connection of the stamens ... The order is the subdivision of the class, so that where a large number of species are to be dealt with, they do not escape our attention, and the mind easily catches them. It’s easier, after all, to cope with 10 births than with 100 at once ...

... Species (spesies) are units that are contained in the genus as descended from seeds, remain forever the same.

In the last sentence, Linnaeus asserts the constancy of species. In this work, which outlines the basic principles and views of Linnaeus, he metaphysically develops the ideas of his era about the immutability and isolation of species and genera, of which there are as many as "how many God created them." The disciples of Linnaeus were already talking about the variability of species. Thus, Greberg, in the collection of works of his students Amoenitates academicae (Academic Leisures, 19 volumes of dissertations), published in 1749 by Linnaeus, openly suggests that all species of the same genus used to be one species; at the same time, he sees the cause of variability in crossing. The biographers of Linnaeus (for example, Komarov) can be found doubting whether Linnaeus shared this point of view; he is considered firmly ostensibly convinced of the permanence of forms. But in Species plantarum, published in 1753, that is, only two years after the Philosophy of Botany, there are quite clear statements about the variability of species; At the same time, it is especially interesting that Linnaeus sees the cause of variability not only in crossings (like Greberg), but also in the influence of the external environment. Thus, on pp. 546-547, Linnaeus describes two species of Thalictrum: F. flavum and T. lucidum; while about T. lucidura he writes: “Is the plant different enough from T. flavum? “It seems to be the daughter of time.” He goes on to describe a species of Achillea ptarmica from the temperate zone of Europe and another species of Achillea alpina from Siberia, and concludes with the following suggestion: "Could not the place (i.e., external conditions) form this species from the previous one?"

Even more direct indications of the origin of species (not varieties) from others are contained in the second, corrected and supplemented edition of the book Species of Plants. Thus, on p. 322 he writes of Beta vulgaris: "It may have originated in foreign countries from Beta maritima." Regarding Clematis maritima, Linnaeus writes: “Magnol and Rey regard it as a variety of Clematis flanimula. In my opinion, it is better to consider it (derived) from Clematis recta under the influence of changes in the soil.

One could give many more examples of Linnaeus's perfectly clear statements about the origin of various species from other species under the influence of the external environment. I think that the foregoing quite clearly indicates a significant evolution of Linnaeus's views.

In fact, it would be difficult to expect anything else from a scientist who possessed the personal qualities of Linnaeus - exceptional erudition and memory, the title of the most diverse species and absolutely outstanding powers of observation. Linnaeus wrote about himself: Lyux faritalpa domi (“a lynx in the field, a mole in the house”), that is, if he is blind at home, like a mole, on excursions he is vigilant and observant, like a lynx.

Thanks to correspondence with botanists from all over the world, Linnaeus collected plants from all over the world in the Botanical Garden at Uppsala University and perfectly knew the flora known at that time. Naturally, his views on the immutability of species had to be revised. And only, perhaps, the well-known fear of public opinion and attacks from theologians explains the fact that in the "Philosophy of Botany", published in 1751, that is, just two years before the "Species of Plants" (and two years after "Academic leisure", where his students write about variability), his views did not find a clear expression. On the other hand, the possibility is not ruled out that later, during the period of struggle around the evolutionary idea, its opponents used the authority of Linnaeus, relying on his early works and creating for him the glory of a consistent metaphysician; now it is necessary, as it were, to protect the scientific reputation of Linnaeus, restoring his true views and their evolution over the course of almost 50 years of his scientific activity.

But, of course, if in the second half of his scientific activity he allowed the variability of individual species, their origin from other species, this does not mean that he stood on the point of view of the evolution of the organic world, since, apparently, regarding genera he was convinced that "the constancy of childbirth is the basis of botany."

At the same time, Linnaeus, perhaps more than any of his contemporaries, provided material for proving and substantiating the evolutionary idea, since he approached the creation of a natural classification of plants and animals known to him, which was then created by the works of Jussieu, De- Kandolya and others. Natural classification, asserting the genetic connection of organic forms, develops into an evolutionary doctrine, is, as it were, the basis for it. The dialectical course of the development of science is clearly seen in this example. Scientists who were looking for and trying to create a natural classification - and John Ray, and Linnaeus, and Cuvier - did not themselves share the idea of ​​evolution or, like Cuvier, for example, even actively fought against it. Nevertheless, their work on the creation of a natural classification system that establishes the relationship of species to each other, the origin of species from the same genus, etc., naturally led to the conclusion about the variability of species and, further, about the evolution of the organic world. This explains that the natural classification appears before the evolutionary doctrine, and not after it, and that it represents, as it were, one of the sources and one of the proofs of the idea of ​​evolution.

Engels wrote about the development of biology: “The deeper this research penetrated, the more precisely it was done, the more this frozen system (of immutable species, genera, classes, kingdoms) of immutable organic nature blurred under the hands. Not only did the boundaries between individual species of plants and animals disappear hopelessly, but animals appeared, like amphiox and lopidosiren, which just mocked all the classifications that existed before ”(“ D.P. ”). And further: “But it is precisely these seemingly insoluble and irreconcilable polar opposites, these hereditarily fixed boundaries of classification, that have given modern theoretical natural science a limited metaphysical character. The recognition that these opposites and differences in nature have only a relative significance, that, on the contrary, the immobility and absoluteness attributed to nature are introduced into it only by our reflection - this recognition constitutes the main point of the dialectical understanding of nature.

Thus, the work done by Liney played a colossal role in the development of natural science in the 18th century.

Moscow, 13/IV 1936

Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish physiologist, was a professor of medicine at the University of Uppsala. He was in charge of a large botanical garden, which was needed by the university for scientific research. People sent him plants and seeds from all over the world to grow in the botanical garden. It was thanks to the intensive study of this huge collection of plants that Carl Linnaeus was able to solve the problem of systematizing all living things - today it would be called the task of taxonomy (taxonomy). We can say that he came up with categories for the popular American quiz "Twenty Questions", in which the first thing they ask is whether the subject is an animal, plant or mineral. In the Linnaean system, indeed, everything refers either to animals, or to plants, or to inanimate nature (minerals).

To help you understand the principle of systematization, imagine that you want to classify all the houses in the world. You can start by saying that houses in Europe, for example, are more similar to each other than houses in North America, so at the first, crudest level of classification, you need to specify the continent where the building is located. At the level of each continent, one can go further by noting that houses in one country (eg France) are more similar to each other than houses in another country (eg Norway). Thus, the second level of classification will be the country. We can continue in the same way, considering successively the level of the country, the level of the city and the level of the street. The number of the house on a particular street will be the final cell where you can place the desired object. This means that each house will be fully classified if the continent, country, city, street and house number are indicated for it.

Linnaeus noticed that in a similar way it is possible to classify living beings according to their characteristics. Man, for example, is more like a squirrel than a rattlesnake, and more like a rattlesnake than a pine tree. By doing the same reasoning as in the case of houses, one can construct a classification system in which each living creature will receive its unique place.

This is exactly what the followers of Carl Linnaeus did. At the initial level, all living beings are divided into five kingdoms - plants, animals, fungi and two kingdoms of unicellular organisms (non-nuclear and containing DNA in the nucleus). Further, each kingdom is divided into types. For example, the human nervous system includes a long spinal brain, which is formed from the notochord. This puts us in the phylum chordates. In most animals that have a spinal cord, it is located inside the spine. This large group of chordates is called the vertebrate subphylum. The person belongs to this subtype. The presence of a backbone is a criterion by which vertebrate animals differ from invertebrates, that is, those that do not have a backbone (these include, for example, crabs).

The next category of classification is class. Man is a representative of the class of mammals - warm-blooded animals with wool, viviparous and feeding their young with milk. This level distinguishes between man and animals such as reptiles and birds. The next category is the squad. We belong to the order of primates - animals with binocular vision and arms and legs adapted for grasping. The classification of humans as primates distinguishes us from other mammals, such as dogs and giraffes.

The next two classification categories are family and genus. We belong to the hominin family and the genus Homo. However, this distinction means little to us, since there are no other representatives of our family and our kind (although they existed in the past). In most animals, each genus contains several representatives. For example, the polar bear is Ursus maritimis and the grizzly bear is Ursus horibilis. Both of these bears belong to the same genus (Ursus), but to different species - they do not interbreed.
The last category in Linnaeus' classification, species, is usually defined as a population of individuals that can interbreed. Man belongs to the species sapience.

When describing animals, it is customary to indicate the genus and species. Therefore, a person is classified as Homo sapiens ("A reasonable person"). This does not mean that the other categories of classification are unimportant - they are simply implied when speaking of genus and species. The main contribution of Linnaeus to science is that he applied and introduced the so-called binary nomenclature, according to which each object of classification is designated by two Latin names - generic and specific.

Classifying wildlife in this way, the Linnaean system assigns to each organism its own unique place in the world of living beings. But success depends primarily on how correctly the taxonomist identifies important physical characteristics, and incorrect judgments and even mistakes are possible here - Linnaeus, for example, attributed the hippopotamus to the order of rodents! At present, systematization increasingly takes into account the genetic code of individual organisms or the history of their evolution - a family tree (this approach is called cladistics).

The system of flora and fauna created by Linnaeus completed the enormous work of botanists and zoologists of the 1st half of the 18th century.
One of the main merits of Linnaeus is that in the "System of Nature" he applied and introduced the so-called binary nomenclature, according to which each species is designated by two Latin names - generic and specific. Linnaeus defined the concept of “species” using both morphological (similarity within the offspring of one family) and physiological (presence of fertile offspring) criteria, and established a clear subordination between systematic categories: class, order, genus, species, variation.

Linnaeus based the classification of plants on the number, size and arrangement of the stamens and pistils of the flower, as well as the sign of one-, two- or polyeciousness of the plant, since he believed that the reproductive organs are the most essential and permanent parts of the body in plants.
Based on this principle, he divided all plants into 24 classes. Due to the simplicity of the nomenclature he used, descriptive work was greatly facilitated, the species received clear characteristics and names. Linnaeus himself discovered and described about 1,500 plant species.
Linnaeus divided all animals into 6 classes:

1. mammals
2. Birds
3. Amphibians
4. Fish
5. Worms
6. Insects

The class of amphibians included amphibians and reptiles, and he included all forms of invertebrates known in his time, except for insects, to the class of worms. One of the advantages of this classification is that man was included in the system of the animal kingdom and assigned to the class of mammals, to the order of primates. The classifications of plants and animals proposed by Linnaeus are artificial from a modern point of view, since they are based on a small number of arbitrarily taken signs and do not reflect the actual relationship between different forms. So, on the basis of only one common feature - the structure of the beak - Linnaeus tried to build a “natural” system based on the totality of many features, but did not reach the goal.

Linnaeus was opposed to the idea of ​​a true development of the organic world; he believed that the number of species remains constant, with the time of their “creation” they did not change, and therefore the task of systematics is to reveal the order in nature established by the “creator”.
However, the vast experience accumulated by Linnaeus, his acquaintance with plants from various localities, could not but shake his metaphysical ideas. In his last writings, Linnaeus, in a very cautious manner, suggested that all species of the same genus were originally one species, and allowed the possibility of the emergence of new species formed as a result of crossings between already existing species.

Linnaeus also classified soils and minerals, human races, diseases (according to symptoms); discovered the poisonous and healing properties of many plants. Linnaeus is the author of a number of works, mainly in botany and zoology, as well as in the field of theoretical and practical medicine (“Medicinal Substances”, “Generations of Diseases”, “Key to Medicine”).

The libraries, manuscripts and collections of Linnaeus were sold by his widow to the English botanist Smith, who founded (1788) in London the Linnean Society, which still exists today as one of the largest scientific centers.

Your attention is invited to the biography of Carl Linnaeus. This man (years of life - 1707-1778) is a famous Swedish naturalist. The scientist gained world fame thanks to the system of flora and fauna created by him. The biography of Carl Linnaeus, presented below, will introduce you to the main events of his life and scientific achievements.

The origin and childhood of the future scientist

The future naturalist was born in southern Sweden, in the Roshult area. The biography of Carl Linnaeus begins on May 25, 1707. It was then that he was born. The boy's father was a village pastor who owned a wooden house and garden, where Carl was first introduced to the world of plants. The future scientist collected them, dried, sorted and formed herbariums. Karl received his primary education at a local school. Interestingly, the teachers considered Linnaeus to be an incapacitated child.

Education at the university, scientific expedition

In the hope of receiving a medical education for their son, the parents decided to send him to a university located in Lund. A year later, Linnaeus moved to Uppsala. The future scientist received a higher botanical education here. After some time, the biography of Carl Linnaeus was marked by an important event. The Swedish Royal Society decided to send Carl on a scientific expedition to Lapland. From the journey, Linnaeus brought a large collection of minerals, animals and plants. On November 9, 1732, the scientist presented to the Royal Society a report on what he saw during the expedition.

"Flora of Lapland" and "System of Nature"

The Flora of Lapland is Carl Linnaeus' first botanical work based on this journey. However, he won fame with a very small work (only 12 pages), published in Leiden (Holland) in 1735. The essay is called "The System of Nature".

Karl created a classification of the organic world. Each plant and animal received two Latin names. The first of them served as a designation of the genus, and the second - of the species. John Ray (years of life - 1627-1705) introduced into biology regarding individuals who differ from each other no more than the children of the same parents differ. Carl Linnaeus identified every species of animal and plant known at that time.

An important merit of Linnaeus is that in the 10th edition of his work "The System of Nature", which appeared in 1759, the scientist applied the concept of binary nomenclature and put it into use. Binarius means "double" in Latin. Each, in accordance with this, is designated using two Latin names - specific and generic. The concept of "species" was defined by Linnaeus, using both a physiological criterion (the presence of fertile offspring) and a morphological one, which John Ray spoke about. Carl established subordination between the following categories of the system: variation, species, genus, detachment (order), class. All generally accepted botanical and zoological nomenclature in Latin originates precisely from this work.

Life in Holland, new works

Linnaeus, having received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in Holland (Gartkali), spent 2 years in Leiden. It was here that he developed brilliant ideas to organize all 3 kingdoms of nature into a system. While in Holland, the scientist published his main works. It is worth noting, however, that the most important place in Linnaeus's classification was occupied in zoology by the "System of Nature", and in botany - by the work "Plant Species". In 1761, the second edition of this work on botany was published. It described 7540 species and 1260 genera of plants. In this case, the varieties are distinguished separately.

6 classes of animals

Which we will consider in detail further, divided all animals into six classes: insects, worms, fish, amphibians, birds, mammals. The class of amphibians included reptiles and amphibians, and worms included all forms of invertebrates known in his time (with the exception of insects). The advantage of the classification proposed by the scientist is that a person is assigned to the order of primates of the class of mammals. Thus, Linnaeus included it in the system of the animal kingdom.

24 plant classes

Carl Linnaeus did not stop there. His contribution to biology concerned the classification not only of animals, but also of plants. Linnaeus divided all their species existing in nature into 24 classes. The scientist recognized the presence of their gender.

The basis of the classification he created, called sexual (sexual), he put the characteristic features of pistils and stamens. The scientist believed that the reproductive organs are the most permanent and essential parts of the body in plants. Linnaeus, according to the peculiarities of the arrangement of pistils (the female organs of a plant), divided all classes into groups.

Note that the system of Carl Linnaeus was artificial. Groups of plants were distinguished in it on the basis of single characters. This inevitably led to the fact that there were numerous errors of Carl Linnaeus. However, his system played a big role in the development of science, and the very approach of this scientist is interesting.

Two classifications of Linnaeus

It is believed that the main merits of Carl Linnaeus are the creation of a binary nomenclature, as well as the standardization and improvement of terminology in botany. Instead of the previous definitions, which were very cumbersome, the scientist introduced clear and concise names that contained a list of plant characteristics in a certain order. Carl Linnaeus distinguished the following categories of the system of living organisms, subordinate to each other: varieties, species, genera, orders and classes. The scientist understood that the system he created was artificial, that his classification was conditional, since the signs for it were chosen arbitrarily. Linnaeus, striving for perfection, proposed another classification. He distributed all the plants in orders (or rather, families) that seemed natural to him.

Lectures in Uppsala, publication of scientific papers

Linnaeus made several more travels for scientific purposes, after which he settled in Uppsala. In 1742 he became a professor of botany at the local university. Students from all over the world began to flock to Carl Linnaeus to listen to his lectures. The botanical garden of the university played a special role in the classes. Linnaeus collected more than 3 thousand plants from all over the world in it. This garden subsequently became also zoological. Linnaeus wrote the textbook "Philosophy of Botany" in 1751. In addition, he published several major works and many articles in the journals of scientific communities in London, St. Petersburg, Uppsala, Stockholm and other cities. The merits of Carl Linnaeus did not go unappreciated. The scientist in 1762 became a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences.

The merits of the scientist in the classification of plants

So, Carl Linnaeus, whose contribution to science we briefly reviewed, for the first time gave an accurate description of the genera and species of 10 thousand plants. The scientist himself discovered and described about 1.5 thousand species. He drew attention to the movement of their leaves and flowers, although Carl Linnaeus did not try to explain the mechanics of this process. The classification of flora he created was simple, albeit artificial. It was based on the location and size of the pistils and stamens of the flower. The classification adopted by Linnaeus has received worldwide recognition.

Carl Linnaeus and the theory of evolution

However, this scientist was not a supporter of the theory of evolution in biology. He claimed, in accordance with the legend from the Bible, that the first pairs of organisms were created on a paradise island and subsequently multiplied and spread. At first, Carl Linnaeus believed that every species from the day of creation was not subject to change. However, later he noticed that new species can be obtained as a result of crossing. Despite this, the scientist argued that reasoning about the variability of organisms is a deviation from the dogmas of religion, therefore they are reprehensible.

Thus, Linnaeus put the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe immutability of all species into the basis of the artificial classification of plants. Although he was not an evolutionist, the static systematics he created became the cornerstone in the further development of natural science. Many scientists engaged in research in the field of evolution turned to the works written by Carl Linnaeus. From this point of view, his contribution to science is great. The double names of animals and plants did not just streamline the chaos that had been observed before him in the classification of flora and fauna. After some time, these names became an important means by which the relationship of species was determined. The system of nature of Carl Linnaeus thus played an outstanding role in evolutionary theory.

Other classifications and writings of Linnaeus

Karl also classified minerals and soils, diseases (according to symptoms), discovered the healing and poisonous properties of many plants. He is the author of several works, mainly in zoology and botany, as well as in the field of practical and theoretical medicine. So, in the period from 1749 to 1763, three volumes of Medicinal Substances were written, in 1763 - "Generations of Diseases", in 1766 - "Key to Medicine".

The last years of life, the fate of the legacy

In 1774, the scientist fell seriously ill. The life of Carl Linnaeus ended in Uppsala on January 10, 1778. His widow sold the collections, manuscripts, and libraries of Linnaeus to Smith, an English botanist. He founded the Linnean Society in London in 1788. And today it exists and is one of the largest scientific centers in the world.

(Linnaeus Carolus, 1707-1778) - Swedish naturalist, botanist, physician, pharmacologist, founder of the principles and methods of systematics of the organic world, encyclopedic scientist, organizer of science, member of the German Academy of Naturalists "Leopoldina" (1736), member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and its first president (1739), member of the Royal Society of London (1753), honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy (1754), member of the French Academy (1762).

Studied natural and honey. sciences in Lundsky and Uppsalsky (1728-1734) high fur boots. In 1731 he took part in an expedition to the islands of the Baltic Sea; At the same time he began to write his works on botany. In 1732 he made a trip to Lapland, the result of which was the work "Flora of Lapland" (1732, complete edition 1737). In 1735, in Holland, at Garderwick University, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine for his thesis on "A New Hypothesis on the Cause of Intermittent Fever." In the same year, the famous work of K. Linnaeus "The System of Nature" was published, which went through 12 editions during his lifetime, in which the foundations of the classification of the "three kingdoms of nature" - plants, animals and minerals - were laid. K. Linnaeus divided each of the kingdoms into hierarchically subordinate taxa: classes, orders, genera, species (see Systematics, Taxonomic categories). He divided the plants into 24 classes and 116 orders based on the structural features of their reproductive organs. The binary nomenclature for designating plants was introduced by him as a prerequisite for describing any organic species (see), and the genus should be written first, then the species, followed by the name of the author who first described this species. Animals were divided by K. Linnaeus into 6 classes: mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, worms, insects (three of them are now considered in the same approximately volume). For the first time he attributed man to the class of mammals, to the order of primates. Attributing man to the animal world and placing him in the same squad with monkeys required from K. Linnaeus not only great scientific intuition, but also civic courage.

The name of K. Linnaeus is usually associated with the idea of ​​the constancy of species. However, he recognized the variability of species (see View), pointing to the influence of climate, soil, and even "time factors", attached great importance to hybridization and himself set up experiments on crossing plants. The principles of classification created by him, which laid the foundation for scientific systematics, had a huge impact on the minds of contemporaries and scientists of several subsequent generations. It was the works and ideas of C. Linnaeus on the hierarchy of systematic categories and the huge factual material accumulated by taxonomists - followers of C. Linnaeus that contributed to the rapid acceptance of the evolutionary ideas of Charles Darwin to a much greater extent than the naive works of natural philosophers-transformists [Bonnet, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (Ch. Bonnet, E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire) and others] and early evolutionists (J. Lamarck).

Since 1741, K. Linnaeus - prof. botany and natural sciences of Uppsala University. He reorganized the botanical garden in Uppsala, organized a natural history museum and created the largest botanical school of its time. In 1739, K. Linnaeus headed the Marine Hospital in Stockholm; for the first time in the country, he won the right to autopsy corpses to determine the causes of death, and established post-mortem work. He proposed a classification of types of diseases ("Genera Morborum"), investigated methods of combating gonorrhea and its treatment, studied the effects of drugs, and published a book on the dangers of alcoholism. Having stopped lecturing since 1742, K. Linnaeus continued to work in the field of medicine and pharmacology. During this period, he published the following works: Medicinal Plants in 3 volumes (1749 - 1763), Genera of Diseases (1763), Key to Medicine (1766).

The influence of K. Linnaeus on world natural science, including Russian science, is enormous. For more than a century before the publication of C. Darwin's On the Origin of Species, natural science developed mainly in the directions laid down by C. Linnaeus.

K. Linnaeus published by St. 180 works, most in separate editions. Under his leadership, up to 200 dissertations were defended, including by graduates of the Moscow University M. I. Afonin and A. M. Karamyshev. Since 1736, K. Linnaeus corresponded with many scientists of Russia - with the St. Petersburg academicians F. I. Miller, J. Amman, I. G. Gmelin and others.

The library, manuscripts and collections of C. Linnaeus were sold by his widow eng. botanist S. Smith, who founded the Linnean Society in London in 1788, which still exists today as one of the largest scientific centers.

Compositions: Systema naturae, Leyden, 1735; Philosophia botanica, Stockholm, 1751; System of nature, Animal Kingdom, part 1 - 2, St. Petersburg, 1804-1805; Philosophy of Botany, St. Petersburg, 1805.

Bibliography: Bobrov E. G. Carl Linney, L., 1970; Komarov V. L. Life and works of Carl Linnaeus, 1707 - 1778, Berlin, 1923; G o u g 1 i e N. The prince of botanists, Carl Linnaeus, L., 1953; Hagberg K. Carl Linnaeus, L., 1952,

H. H. Vorontsov.

The concept of systematics, its goals and objectives

Since the time of ancient natural philosophers, there has been an accumulation of descriptions of various living organisms - plants, animals, fungi. People saw that some organisms are similar to each other, others are not. They couldn't explain it scientifically. But there was a need to streamline the accumulated amount of knowledge (the amount of information). Therefore, the emergence of such a branch of natural science as systematics became completely natural.

Definition 1

Systematics is a science that studies the diversity of organisms on Earth, their classification and evolutionary relationships.

The main task of taxonomy was to create a coherent system of vision of the organic world, taking into account the relationships of living organisms, their origin and development.

The successful development of systematics allows scientists to assume the presence of certain features of living organisms based on their belonging to a certain group (taxon). Thanks to the success of modern taxonomy, we can predict the development of living organisms in the future.

Development of taxonomy

Like any branch of human knowledge, taxonomy has gone through a long period of development and formation as a science. In the past, taxonomy was based on ascertaining the external morphological features of living organisms and their geographical distribution. At present, taxonomists also widely use signs of the internal structure of plants and animals, structural features of cells, their chromosome apparatus, as well as the chemical composition and ecological characteristics of living organisms.

Remark 1

One of the first to attempt to classify the diversity of living organisms were representatives of ancient science Heptador, Aristotle, Theophrastus. They united all living organisms in accordance with their philosophical beliefs. Plants they divided into trees and grasses, and animals were divided into two groups - "cold-blooded" and "warm-blooded".

It was the first natural system that reflected the order found in nature.

The era of the Great Geographical Discoveries enriched the scientific world with knowledge about new forms of living organisms, significantly expanding the boundaries of human knowledge.

The English scientist John Ray laid the theoretical foundations for the scientific classification of living organisms. He proposed to systematize them according to the similarities and differences found in the process of studying.

An outstanding role in creating a harmonious system of the organic world was played by the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus.

Carl Linnaeus. Brief historical background

Carl Linnaeus was born $23$ May $1707$ in Sweden, in the family of a village priest. Already in his childhood, little Karl showed an interest in plants. The parents wanted their son to become a priest. But the young man showed no desire to become a pastor. Therefore, his parents allowed him to study medicine at Lund University, then at Uppsald University.

After graduating from the university, Linnaeus taught at the Uppsala University Botanical Garden, studied the flora of Lapland, Holland, the Baltic Sea Islands and southern Sweden, and wrote a number of works on plant systematics. For his services, Karl Linnaeus was promoted to the nobility in $1761$. Linnaeus died on January 10, $1778.

The ideas of Carl Linnaeus made it possible to create a unified classification system for plants and animals. The principles of classification proposed by him were distinguished by their simplicity and convenience. Therefore, they were widely used by botanists and zoologists from different countries.

Systematics of Linnaeus. Its meaning

Carl Linnaeus considered the species as an elementary unit of living nature as the basis of his system. Being a believer, he considered the species of living organisms created by the creator and unchanging. True, at the end of his life, Linnaeus admitted the possibility of some variations in species.

Carl Linnaeus described approximately $10,000 of plant species. Nearly $1,500 of them were discovered by him. In addition, he described more than $4,000$ of animal species.

Linnaeus finally introduced a unified binary (double) nomenclature into systematics. He formulated a clear idea about the species as the main unit of classification, about the discreteness of the species and its stability.

Linnaeus united species into genera, genera - into detachments, detachments - into classes. The structure of the flower (the number of stamens) was taken as the basis for the classification of plants. In total, Linnaeus singled out $24$ of plant classes and $6$ of animal classes. In addition, he developed a description system - clear criteria, which greatly facilitated the systematization.

The binary nomenclature proposed by Linnaeus consisted of two words. The first word meant the name of the genus, the second - the species name. But for the sake of justice, it should be said that the classification proposed by Linnaeus was artificial. He often took no set of signs. And only one. This led to the fact that he combined plants into one group that had nothing in common. For example, he combined carrots with currants (five stamens in a flower), and he attributed cereals to different classes due to the different number of stamens.

By his convictions, he was a creationist and metaphysician. He rejected the possibility of changing species and their numbers. But this does not detract from the merits of Carl Linnaeus before science. Probably the best assessment of the legacy of Carl Linnaeus was the words of K.I. Timiryazev:

“The crown and probably the last word of such a classification was, and still unsurpassed in its elegant simplicity, the system of the plant kingdom proposed by Linnaeus.”