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The history of biology traces the study of the living world from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of biology as a single coherent field arose in the 19th century, the biological sciences emerged from traditions of medicine and natural history reaching back to Ayurveda, ancient Egyptian medicine and the works of Aristotle, Theophrastus and Galen in the ancient Greco-Roman world.
- History of Biology - Anaximander and Theophrastus
- Aristotle's Zoology - The Parts of Animals and The History of Animals
- Aristotle's Zoology - Epigenesis and Bird Eggs
- Taxonomy
- Aristotle's Zoology and The Ladder of Life
- Aristotle's Zoology and Philosophy
- Theophrastes
- The History of Biology - Other Ancient Greek and Roman Contributions
- The History of Biology - The Ancient Greeks
Although Aristotle's zoology cemented his place as the father of biology, as the first person to apply empirical techniques and a rudimentary scientific methodto his research, the earlier Greek philosophers, Anaximander and Theophrastus, deserve mentioning. Aristotle's zoology was largely built upon their work and observations, so they earned a pla...
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), the pupil of Plato, took great interest in the natural world, including many aspects of meteorology and geography, but his greatest contribution to science was in the fields of natural history and biology. Whilst earlier scholars made observations about flora and fauna, Aristotle was the first to useempiricalmethods and...
In a fine early example of an early observational biology experiment, Aristotle dissected bird's eggs at various stages of development, trying to understand the order in which the organs of the growing embryo developed. He noticed that the heart was the first thing to develop, with the other organs following in order. This fuelled his theory of Epi...
The First Systematic Classification in the History of Biology
Whilst earlier philosophers had tried to place animals into groups, the classifications were broad and sweeping, revealing little about the animals other than whether they flew, walked or swam. Aristotle's zoologyincluded systematically observing and studying a wide range of animals, noting the similarities and trying to connect like with like. He studied animals from all around Greece, and it is likely that he received exotic specimens from his sponsor and ex-pupil, Alexander the Great. Aris...
Ultimately, he proposed the 'Ladder of Life,' a hierarchy where animals were ultimately classified according to function and complexity, with complex organisms occupying positions further upon the ladder and humanity at the apex. Aristotle proposed 11 levels, believing that the form of the creature at birth dictated their position. Plants were at t...
Aristotle's zoology, due to the dominant philosophical view in Greece, had a very holistic view of nature and believed that al life had souls. Plants possessed a 'vegetative soul,' which conferred the gift of reproduction and growth, and animals added a 'sensitive soul,' granting movement and senses. Only humans possessed a 'rational soul,' gifting...
The Father of Botany
If Aristotle goes down in the history of biology as the Father of Biology and Zoology, Theophrastes (371 - 287 BC) certainly earns the title of 'Father of Botany.' As the pupil and companion of Aristotle, and the man Aristotle chose as his successor, Theophrastes applied Aristotelian empiricism and meticulous methodology to the study of plants. In two works, 'Enquiry into Plants' and 'On the Causes of Plants,' he made the first systemized study of the plant world, in exactly the same way that...
Other Ancient Greeks contributed to the burgeoning history of biology, although their contributions are not as well known as Aristotle's zoology. In the 3rd Century BC, Diocles of Carystus wrote a treatise on herbal plants, and he was emulated by Crateuas, in the 1st century CE, but their work did not survive. Pedanios Dioscorides wrote De Materia ...
Considering the limited equipment and knowledge of the Ancient Greeks, their contribution to the history of Biology was truly remarkable, bringing a systematic approach to study and the first signs of empiricism and a proto-scientific method. Anaximander was the first known mind to contemplate the origins of humanity and largely separate it from di...
Jun 1, 2021 · "This is an astonishing book, breathtaking in its range across time and subjects, from the ancient era of Hippocrates and Galen to the modern age of genetics, molecular biology, and neuroscience. Morange's compelling account of the past brightly illuminates issues confronting biology in the present."—Daniel J. Kevles, author of In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity
Oct 30, 2024 · Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish naturalist and explorer who was the first to frame principles for defining natural genera and species of organisms and to create a uniform system for naming them (binomial nomenclature). He is also known for Systema Naturae (1735) and Species Plantarum (1753), two seminal works in biology.
- Staffan Müller-Wille
- Swedish naturalist and explorer Carolus Linnaeus was the first to frame principles for defining natural genera and species of organisms and to crea...
- Carolus Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707, in Råshult, Småland, Sweden.
- Carolus Linnaeus’s early interest in botany was channeled by a teacher at Växjö gymnasium, in Kronoberg, southern Sweden. In 1727 Linnaeus began hi...
Jul 29, 2021 · This essay is an excerpt from A History of Biology by Michel Morange, translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan and Joseph Muise.. About the Author. Michel Morange is professor emeritus at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Sciences and Techniques at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Sep 7, 2017 · On this page, we have explored the names of the founding scientists or the so-called “Fathers” in the field of biology and the corresponding scientific contributions they’ve made that will be remembered forever. The father of biology is Aristotle. Here are the fathers of biology in various sub-disciplines of biology.
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Feb 28, 2021 · The history of biology traces the study of the living world from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of biology as a single coherent field arose in the nineteenth century, the biological sciences emerged from traditions of medicine and natural history reaching back to ayurveda, ancient Egyptian medicine and the works of Aristotle and Galen in the ancient Greco-Roman world.
