Porządek przyrody a status wiedzy przyrodniczej. O epistemologicznych konsekwencjach XVII-wiecznej wizji przyrody ożywionej

Abstract

J. B. Lamarck begins his opus The Philosophy of Zoology from considerations on credibility of ways of making different classifications of living organisms pointing out the reasons for their inadequacy. Although Lamarck’s work was written at the beginning of the 19th century, it brought up the problems about the subject that had emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries as well. Every classification reflects the current state of knowledge about nature – with all its false and true assessments. Thus by observing the changes in animal systematics, such as those proposed by John Ray, one can discuss changes in the knowledge of nature, the changes in its methods, terms and changes of Natural Science status.