As professional organizers, one of the most important things we do is develop systems of classification so that our clients can find what they need when they need it. This isn’t a new idea. There is a whole branch of science concerned with classification called taxonomy. It comes from the Greek words “taxis” meaning “order” and “nomos” meaning “law” or “science”.
So today I would like to introduce the Father of Taxonomy – Carl von Linnaeus (1707-1778). He developed a system for classifying living organisms — yes folks, ALL LIFE ON EARTH!
Linnaeus was not the first scientist to recognize that different species could grouped together based on some common characteristics. Aristotle organized life forms into a hierarchical structure with plants on the bottom, animals in the middle and humans on the top and medieval scholars used Aristotle’s ideas and the Bible to “prove” God’s benevolent organization of the world.
Until Linnaeus’s time however, scientists arbitrarily gave the species they classified complicated Latin names, which they changed whenever they wished, depending on which other species they were classifying at the time. This meant that two different scientists could be identifying the same thing but have named it differently. How confusing!
Linnaeus published a revolutionary book Systema Naturae, in 1735. It outlined his scheme for classifying all known and yet to be discovered life forms. This method of organization was accepted as the standard by the early 1800′s. Using this method of classification, Linnaeus, during his lifetime classified about 4,400 species of animals and about 7,700 species of plants.
The classification system that Linnaeus built is still used today and with the birth of molecular biology (protein and DNA sequencing) and the ability to track embryonic development, scientists are able to better classify living things.
Linnaeus was a remarkable scientist for standardizing the names of species and communicating that information so all other scientists could follow his system. His system was easy to understand, simple to apply and easily modified to accommodate changes and new developments. These are exactly the traits of an organizational system that I strive to build for my clients!
It’s quite amazing that a system developed hundreds of years ago is still relevant, despite all the scientific advances that have been made.
Never thought I’d see Linnaeus discussed on an organizing blog – I love it!
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