RE: Philidor: No Class

["Steve Brusatte" <dinoland@lycos.com>]

On Wed, 28 Aug 2002 11:06:27  
 Williams, Tim wrote:
>Steve Brusatte wrote:
>> However, Jefferson, like Cuvier, was a follower of Linne and his
>> system-really, the only "good" system known at the time.  So, Jefferson
>> wasn't drunk on his French wine when discussing his views on "stamp
>> collection" classifications.  
>
>I'm not disputing Jefferson's expertise in identifying or classifying
>fossils.  However, my point was that he actually got off his horse to do so.
>I'm sure those fossil scallop shells weren't too easy to discern from
>horseback.   :-)

Probably...unless he had really good eyesight or a small horse...  And, some of 
the _Chesapecten_ specimens I have seen are the size of dinner plates. :-))))  
(Not that that makes Jefferson's horseback assumption correct, though. :-))

>I agree that we all constrained by our times - I don't fault Jefferson (or
>Cuvier or Marsh or Romer or Darwin or Linne...) for the classificatory
>system they used.  God forbid.  But I think powerful arguments could be (and
>have been) marshalled against the Linnaean System, especially its use of
>loaded terms such as "Class".

In my opinion, those arguments have already been debated.  The Linnaean system, 
if it hasn't already, should have its last rights administered.  There is no 
reason to use it, unless one is still stuck in a pseudo-evolutionary mentality. 
 Let morphology and molecules speak for themselves, not "experts" using an 
outdated and unscientific system speak for them.

Steve

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