[Taxacom] Order Campanulales (worth maintaining?)

[Richard Zander]

Chis Taylor's query about analyzing the occurrences of, say the face of Jesus on a taco, as to " But your results wouldn't be related to external reality," is important.

The reason it would not be related to external reality is that it would not fit into the massive scientific edifice of theory about nature. Yes, one can analyze appearances from the Beyond, but they fit into a metaphysical or supernatural edifice. And we hope the twain don't meet.

One should not make the mistake of equating the ability of humans to recognize patterns with the idea that such patterns are fallible. They are, and they can be identified as such, and sorted and explained.

 
* * * * * * * * * * * * 
Richard H. Zander 
Missouri Botanical Garden, PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299 USA 
Web sites: http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/resbot/ and http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/bfna/bfnamenu.htm
Modern Evolutionary Systematics Web site: http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/resbot/21EvSy.htm



-----Original Message-----
From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
[mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Christopher
Taylor

On 2011-02-19 15:03, Richard Zander wrote:
> Genera are non-arbitrary because we see them, apprehend them, grok 
> them, vasten them; even Aristotle recognized genera, Linneaus 
> incorporated them into his very names for species

We can also all see and apprehend the face of Jesus appearing in a taco. One could even conduct a detailed study of apparitions of the face of Jesus, recording where and when they happened, who saw them, and modelling when they were likely to happen again. But your results wouldn't be related to external reality, but to the human propensity for imposing familiar patterns on their external world. How is one to define genera in such a way that they don't also fall into this trap?

    Cheers,

         Christopher Taylor
Christopher Taylor
Dept of Environment and Agriculture
Curtin University
GPO Box U1987
Perth
WA 6845
Australia

http://coo.fieldofscience.com



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