Natural History — Searching for Order

Although ancient peoples around the world have been informally learning about Biological Order (and its counterpart, Biological Disorder) for thou- sands of years, a systematic approach to the search for Order has only begun relatively recently. Aristotle, who lived during 384–322 B.C. in Greece, was one of the first natural philosophers (Figure 1.5). Aristotle may have been the world’s first great biologist. He collected huge amounts of information about the anatomy, physiology, and behavior of many plants and animals. He was the first person to describe the differences between plants and animals, and between living versus non-living things. Aristotle studied the parts of living organisms in terms of their teleology, their ‘‘complete’’ or final purpose for existence. The final ‘‘purpose’’ of numerous plants and animals, this early biologist thought, was to provide food for mankind, thereby adding to human happiness. Aristotle emphasized the importance of making detailed observations to help state general principles, and he assumed that the World of Nature had a great deal of Order within it. Aristotle may also be considered the Father of Natural History – the collection and classification of plants and animals into particular groups.

Aristotle’s ideas about a broad Natural History – the comprehensive study of plants, animals, fish, birds, and all other living creatures – were widely adopted and followed for hundreds of years. During the 1700’s in Europe, a number of brave explorers made dangerous journeys to faraway places around the globe, collecting and classifying a great variety of plants and animals. Gradually, the immense Biological Order of the world was becoming quite apparent. The ability of naturalists to keep classifying newly dis- covered organisms into particular groups was strong evidence of a high degree of Order underlying the natural environment.