Sophia

Monday, February 28, 2011

Tree of Life


The concept of a tree of life as a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related has been used in sciencereligionphilosophymythology, and other areas. A tree of life is variously;
  1. motif in various world theologies, mythologies, and philosophies;
  2. a metaphor for the livelihood of the spirit.
  3. a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet; and
  4. metaphor for common descent in the evolutionary sense.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the tree of knowledge, connecting heaven and the underworld, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree.[1] According to some scholars, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, portrayed in various religions and philosophies, are the same tree.[2]

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word finds its roots in the Greekτάξιςtaxis (meaning 'order' or 'arrangement') and νόμοςnomos (meaning 'law' or 'science'). Taxonomy uses taxonomic units, known as taxa (singular taxon).

Phylogenetics

Today, the alternative to the traditional rank-based biological classification is phylogenetic systematics, which is postulating phylogenetic trees (trees of descent), rather than focusing on what taxa to delimit. The best-known form of this is cladistics.

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