tisdag 6 december 2011

On the third alternative approach to the question of the origin of Life (i.e., evolutionary taxonomy)

Cladistics claim to BE phylogenetics. However, if cladistics (i.e., classification of biodiversity into only clades) would be possible, then evolution would be impossible, and thus also a Tree of Life, and much more the single True Tree of Life cladistics acknowledges. Cladistics is thus contradicted by denying, in turn, evolution, Trees of Life and a single Tree of Life, that is, itself.

Cladistics thus makes phylogenetics appear ridiculous. If its self-contradiction would be the only alternative to creationism, then humanity would be doomed to self-contradiction - either as a self-contradictory belief in a single True Tree of Life (i.e., cladistics) or as a self-contradictory belief in that a God created Life.

Luckily, there is a third alternative - belief in a single origin of Life combined with understanding that this origin can't be described unambiguously, that is, understanding that there is no single True Tree of Life to be found (i.e.,the scientific approach called evolutionary taxonomy). The scientific alternative thus bypasses the contradiction between the self-contradictions of cladistics and creationism by acknowledging Darwin's idea of a single origin of Life combined with understanding that a description of the origin of Life has to be either ambiguous (which it acknowledges) or contradictory (which it does not acknowledge, but which cladistics only acknowledges). The scientific alternative thus distinguishes itself from cladistics by denying cladistics' idea "a single True Tree of Life". It understands that this idea is practically impossible.

Evolutionary taxonomy is thus the preferable approach for people that acknowledge Darwin's idea of a single origin of Life, but which at the same time understand that such origin can't be unambiguously described. They understand that the fundamental obstacle for an unambiguous description of reality is that reality is distinct from descriptions of it. They do not fall into the cladistic trap of confusing reality with descriptions of it.

Evolutionary taxonomy is thus the only approach that combines belief in Darwin's idea with practical possibility. The system it uses for classification is the orthogonal Linnean systematics. It is thus not revolutionary, but inclusive. It includes Darwin's idea in Linnean systematics.

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