Species

Species and the Birth of Modern Science 81

Linnaeus compares his hierarchical branches to the logical, regional, and military

equivalents. It is also telling that he uses political terms for his own ranks; following

on from the Imperial role God plays over nature, but also echoing his hope that a

good taxonomy will serve the Swedish empire.

Later taxonomic conventions added the ranks of Phylum between Kingdom and

Class, and Family between Order and Genus, giving seven ranks.^142 The philosophi-

cal notion of species was not entirely helpful in botany, so Linnaeus changed it a lit-

tle. Instead of any number of subaltern genera, he made the scale of classes absolute,

and instead of working downwards, he started in the middle (at the genus). Linnaeus’

ranks began at species, and these existed in genera. Hence, to name a species you

needed to give the generic name and the species name. Humans are members of the

genus Homo (or Man; according to Linnaeus, one of several^143 ) and our species is

called sapiens (the wise one). So in Latin our “name” is “the wise man.” Humans,

under his initial system, are:

Animals (Regnum Animale)

Mammals (Classis Mammalia)

Primates (Ordo Primates)

Man (Genus Homo)

Wise or rational (Species sapiens)14 4

The “rational animal” denition of medieval logical taxonomies is evident. What
Linneaus did differently was to make species and genera xed ranks. He established
this universal system for the naming and classication of all organisms. There were,
for example, various kingdoms—plants (Plantae) and animals (Animalia). Each spe-
cies had a street address (its generic name, or genus) and a street number (its species
name, or epithet).^145 Now, taxonomists (those who classify taxa, or groups of organ-
isms) could use a single and relatively simple system for their organisms, and all
could agree on how to name them, and what to name.
Linnaeus was most denitely a special creationist—that is, he believed that
each species was created specially by God, and Haller famously said of him that he
thought himself a “second Adam.”^146 His project of classication relied heavily on
the logic of scholastic philosophy, which he employed in ways reminiscent of the
Universal Language Project, to impose order upon the world. He said once to his

(^142) Later, further ranks in the so-called Linnean System, also known during the early nineteenth century
as the “natural system,” were added; see Appendix A.
(^143) See Broberg 1983 for a comprehensive account of Linnaeus’ treatment of humans in relation to apes
and the reaction he received from the religious, both naturalists and theologians.
14 4 (^) Initially he referred to humans as Homo diurnis, in contrast to Homo nocturnis for the orangutan.
Some have held that sapiens should be read as “the knowing man” [Broberg 1983, 176]. The classical
meaning of sapiens is “wise or discerning” or “sage,” and it is used this way in Ovid, for example.
Linnaeus, who quotes the Oracle’s advice “know thyself” (Nosce te ipsum) on which Socrates based
his investigations as the denition of Homo sapiens, may have been alluding to this. However, I still
think wise is a better translation. Thanks to Polly Winsor for pointing this out.
(^145) In modern practice, the genus name is always capitalized and the species epithet is always lower
case, and both are always italicized. Other taxonomic ranks are capitalized but not italicized.
(^146) Ramsbottom 1938, 195n.