How to Incorporate Non-Epistemic Values into a Theory of Classification

Non-epistemic values play important roles in classificatory practice, such that philosophical accounts of kinds and classification should be able to accommodate them. Available accounts fail to do so, however. Our aim is to fill this lacuna by showing how non-epistemic values feature in scientific classification, and how they can be incorporated into a philosophical theory of classification and kinds. To achieve this, we present a novel account of kinds and classification (the Grounded Functionality Account), discuss examples from biological classification where non-epistemic values play decisive roles, and show how this account accommodates the role of non-epistemic values.

Review of Metaheuristics Inspired from the Animal Kingdom

The search for powerful optimizers has led to the development of a multitude of metaheuristic algorithms inspired from all areas. This work focuses on the animal kingdom as a source of inspiration and performs an extensive, yet not exhaustive, review of the animal inspired metaheuristics proposed in the 2006–2021 period. The review is organized considering the biological classification of living things, with a breakdown of the simulated behavior mechanisms. The centralized data indicated that 61.6% of the animal-based algorithms are inspired from vertebrates and 38.4% from invertebrates. In addition, an analysis of the mechanisms used to ensure diversity was performed. The results obtained showed that the most frequently used mechanisms belong to the niching category.

DNA Barcoding for Identification and Detection of Species

Identification is a very important part of the taxonomy. Since a species represents the basic unit of biological classification, identifying species is important to understand the systematics and the precise phylogenetic position of particular species. In recent years, species identification and delimitation have seen major improvements because of the incorporation of DNA sequence data. This review provides a comprehensive list of commonly employed nuclear and chloroplast regions used for the barcoding of plants.

ZOONYMIC VOCABULARY OF THE SIBERIAN TATARS IN THE COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL ASPECT

The article analyzes the zoonymic vocabulary of the Siberian Tatars of the late 18th - early 19th centuries and its functioning in the modern Tatar literary language and Siberian dialects. The material of the research is the Russian-Tatar Dictionary, collected at the Tobolsk Main Public School by the Tatar language teacher Joseph Giganov (St. Petersburg, 1804), as well as field records made during expedition trips to settlements with a compact residence of Siberian Tatars in 2020. 9 groups of animal names have been identified, using the biological classification of the animal world. The group of names of invertebrates is supplemented by the names of worms (Vermes), crustaceans (Crustacea), arachnids (Arachnida), insects (Insecta), and vertebrates - the names of fish (Pisces), amphibians (Amphibia), reptiles (Reptilia), birds (Aves) and mammals (Mammalia). In addition, synonymy and variability within the lexical-thematic group are considered from the standpoint of the modern division into literary and dialectal units. The authors come to the conclusion that when compiling synonymous series, the main principles were usuality and bookishness.

Effect of Multimodal Instructional Approach on Students’ Academic Performance in The Concept of Biological Classification

Purpose: This study investigated the effect of Multimodal Instructional Approach on students’ academic performance in the concept of Biological Classification at Navrongo Senior High School, generally, and on gender basis. Methodology: The study adopted quasi-experimental research design. The sample comprised of 100 Navrongo Senior High School Form Two Gold Track and Green Track science students. Students from the Gold Track and Green Track were designated experimental group and control group respectively. Each group was made up of 25 males and 25 females. Pretest was administered to all the participants. The experimental group was taught using Multimodal Instructional Approach. The control group was taught using Discussion as the teaching method. A posttest was administered to both groups to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. The reliability of the test items was determined using test-retest reliability coefficient. The test-retest reliability coefficients of the instruments were found to be 0.73 and 0.78 for the pretest and posttest respectively. The data obtained were analysed using independent sample t-test. Results: The pretest test scores revealed that the students were homogeneous in terms of performance. Posttest results of students in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group. There was no significant difference in the performance of males and females. The results of the posttest revealed that the use of MIA in teaching biological classification was more effective than discussion method. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: This study recommended that Biology teachers in NSHS should be encouraged to teach Biological Classification using MIA in order to improve the academic performance of both male and female students. School authority should invite educational technologists, instructional materials technicians and computer experts to help science teachers of NSHS on how to incorporate ICT in teaching science subjects.

“I would sooner die than give up”: Huxley and Darwin's deep disagreement

Thomas Henry Huxley and Charles Darwin discovered in 1857 that they had a fundamental disagreement about biological classification. Darwin believed that the natural system should express genealogy while Huxley insisted that classification must stand on its own basis, independent of evolution. Darwin used human races as a model for his view. This private and long-forgotten dispute exposes important divisions within Victorian biology. Huxley, trained in physiology and anatomy, was a professional biologist while Darwin was a gentleman naturalist. Huxley agreed with John Stuart Mill's rejection of William Whewell's sympathy for Linnaeus. The naturalists William Sharp Macleay, Hugh Strickland, and George Waterhouse worked to distinguish two kinds of relationship, affinity and analogy. Darwin believed that his theory could explain the difference. Richard Owen introduced the distinction between homology and analogy to anatomists, but the word homology did not enter Darwin's vocabulary until 1848, when he used the morphological concept of archetype in his work on Cirripedia. Huxley dropped the word archetype when Richard Owen linked it to Plato's ideal forms, replacing it with common plan. When Darwin wrote in the Origin of Species that the word plan gives no explanation, he may have had Huxley in mind. Darwin's preposterous story in the Origin about a bear giving birth to a kangaroo, which he dropped in the second edition, was in fact aimed at Huxley.

Biological Systematics

Understanding the history and philosophy of biological systematics (phylogenetics, taxonomy and classification of living things) is key to successful practice of the discipline. In this thoroughly revised third edition, the authors provide an updated account of cladistic principles and techniques, emphasizing their empirical and epistemological clarity. The book covers the history and philosophy of systematics; the mechanics and methods of character analysis, phylogenetic inference, and evaluation of results; the practical application of systematic results to biological classification, adaptation and coevolution, biodiversity, and conservation; along with new chapters on species and molecular clocks. The book is both a textbook for students studying systematic biology and a desk reference for practicing systematists. Part explication of concepts and methods, part exploration of the underlying epistemology of systematics, the edition addresses why some methods are more empirically sound than others.