CAROLUS LINNÆUS: Second Adam Dr. Paul Kattupalli

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CAROLUS LINNÆUS: Second Adam Dr. Paul Kattupalli It was said of Linnaeus, God created, Linnaeus set in order. Carl Nilsson Linnæus was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician.

1 CAROLUS LINNÆUS: Second Adam Dr. Paul Kattupalli It was said of Linnaeus, God created, Linnaeus set in order. Carl Nilsson Linnæus was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician. He was born in 1707 in Rashult, Smaland in southern Sweden. His father came from a long line of clergymen, and Carl would have likely followed in his father s footsteps had he not been encouraged by his science teacher to study medicine and botany instead. 1 His father also enjoyed gardening and instilled in Linnæus a love and respect for nature from an early age. Linnæus first began his university studies at Lund, but transferred to Uppsala in While at the university, Linnæus went by Carolus, a Latinized form of his name which would also be featured in his Latin publications. Linnaeus believed himself as God s chosen instrument for revealing the divinely ordered works of Creation in an orderly way. He adopted a worldview according to the Book of Genesis. He regarded human beings as the crown of all God s creation. He once said Everything may be made subservient to his use, if not immediately, yet mediately, not so to that of other animals. Everything was made for man s use and that man for his part was created for the glory of the Creator. Linnæus is regarded as the father of modern taxonomy and ecology. He is best known for his system of classifying plant and animal species, described in his book Systema Naturae, which comprises a simplified, two-part (binomial) Latin nomenclature. Linnæus justification for using Latin terminology in the nomenclature was that it would be both more equitable and more effective as Latin is no one s native language and would not be influenced by dialect. This universal naming system is still used worldwide today, and has facilitated communication and collaboration among scientists for centuries. Linnæus published a number of works on his research in botany, zoology, nomenclature, and taxonomy. His most celebrated books were Systema Naturae and Species Plantarum. He was recognized for his contributions to science and Sweden and was knighted in Linnæus changed his name again, this time to Carl von Linné, to reflect his new nobility. Linnaeus work, Species Plantarum, a rendition of over 5900 plant species was an astonishing achievement in plant taxonomy. In Systema Naturae (1735), he introduced his first classification of animals using the main divisions: Quadrupedia (quadrupeds), Aves (birds), Amphibia (reptiles, snakes, amphibians), Pisces (fish), Insecta (insects) and Vermes (worms and molluscs). The first 1

An illusration of Linnaeus system of classification. subdivision of Quadrupeds was the primates which included man (Homo sapiens), apes and monkeys.

2 An illusration of Linnaeus system of classification. subdivision of Quadrupeds was the primates which included man (Homo sapiens), apes and monkeys. Linnaeus traveled extensively to scale the landscape and study its flora and fauna, often endangering his own life. After a treacherous journey to Őland, he wrote, The north wind howled, the waves grew furious and the ship was hurled to and fro between the raging billows. My companions were seasick, the tackle began to break; we were in despair and placed our lives in God s hands. Linnaeus became a national hero in Sweden and he once wrote about himself in third person: God has bestowed on him the greatest insight into nature-study. None before him has written more works, more correctly, more methodically, from his own experience. None before him has so totally reformed a whole science and made a new epoch...god has permitted him to see more of His created work than any mortal before him.⁹ Some of Linnæus work is regarded as highly controversial, particularly his assignment of humans to Anthropomorpha, the same taxon as monkeys and apes, in Systema Naturae. This claim had multiple theological implications. According to the scriptures, man was created in the image of God and holds a higher place in the hierarchy of nature. Thus, if man and monkeys are so physiologically similar, it follows that monkeys were also made in the image of God and are on an equal plane with man. 2 Linnaeus responded to these criticisms stating that even though there were some 2

physical similarities between humans and primates, human beings were distinct because of their special creation in the image of God, possessing an eternal soul, which animals lack.

3 physical similarities between humans and primates, human beings were distinct because of their special creation in the image of God, possessing an eternal soul, which animals lack. Nevertheless, Linnæus revised this classification in a later edition of Systema Naturae, introducing the terms Mammalia and Primates to replace Anthropomorpha. 3 He also assigned humans a separate binomial nomenclature, Homo sapiens. He was raised in a Christian household and it is said that much of the impetus for his curiosity about nature had spiritual origins. Linnæus even went so far as to claim that his binomial nomenclature system was a psalter for divine worship and botany itself a divine science. 4 He believed plants as ideas in the mind of God. Being a creationist, he believed that his taxonomic system was a means of illuminating the methods of Adam when he named the animals in the Garden of Eden. 5 In fact, some have referred to him as a second Adam. 4 However, religious explanations alone were not sufficient for Linnæus, and he was often labeled a non-conformist or free-thinker as he was unafraid to challenge norms in the name of rational causal explanations. 1,5 It seems at one point he doubted the age of earth inferred from the scripture. Once he had written, I should like to believe that the earth is even older than the Chinese believe it to be, but the Scriptures do not allow this. In 1739 Linnaeus married Sara Elizabeth Moraea, and they had seven children. He once admonished his son, You have only one life to provide for. If you are confident that this journey will advance your career, then ask God for guidance and help. He is everywhere, even among the wildest fells. Trust in Him. My prayers will go with you. Linnaeus adopted a stoic view of life in his later years. Reacting to the death of his friend Fru Back in March 1767, he wrote, We brought nothing into the world, for all we had in life was a loan from God. With the gift of life came also the gift of death. Measured against eternity, life is but a moment of time. In the later years of his life, Linnaeus health started to decline due to multiple strokes. He died at 8 0 clock in the morning, on January 10, Some years earlier he had written instructions for his burial: Lay me in a coffin unshaven,unwashed,unclothed, wrapped only in a sheet...let thanksgiving services to God, who granted me so long a life and so many blessings, be held in the Cathedral and in Danmark s church. God in Linnaeus Life As Wilfrid Blunt noted in his biography of Linnaeus home in Uppsala, Sweden. 3

Linnaeus, Linnaeus was certainly a deeply religious man, who would have agreed with the hymnographer that All things bright and beautiful All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful,

4 Linnaeus, Linnaeus was certainly a deeply religious man, who would have agreed with the hymnographer that All things bright and beautiful All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all Unlike Darwin who explained nature in terms of a godless progression of events, Linnaeus saw nature as a direct creation of God. Darwin proposed that evolution was the result of the natural selection of the fittest. Darwin s problem was to find the source of hereditary variations that were the bearers of natural selection. Darwin initially thought of making the macrovariations the principal vehicles of natural selection. But Darwin, whose foremost aspiration was to remove God from the descriptions of organisms, worried that such macrovariations had an almost supernatural nature⁶. So he settled for the hypothesis that natural selection targeted variations that were extremely small. Unlike Darwin, who was driven by materialistic philosophies which had no role for God in creation, Linnaeus saw the nature as a handiwork of God. Linnaeus viewed nature as a the direct creation of God. Linnaeus made it a habit to praise God for all circumstances in his life, whether they were good or bad, akin to what Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:11, Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content. After the expedition to Lapland, Linnaeus closed one of his travel journals with this delightful hymn of praise to God: Almighty God, Creator and Preserver of all things, who On Laplands fells suffered me to ascend so high In Falun mines to descend so low, On Lapland fells showed me diem sine nocte, day without night, In Falun minds noctem sine die, night without day, On Lapland fells suffered me to be where cold is never-ending, In Falun mines where heat is never-ending, On Lapland fells suffered me to see in one place all the four seasons, In Falun minds not one of the four seasons, 4

5 In Lapland led me unharmed through so many mortal dangers, In Falun through so many perils to health, Praise be all Thou hast created From the beginning to the end³. Linnaeus composed Nemesis Divina for the edification of his wayward son Carl. It became a classic of Swedish literature that influenced legendary Swedish playwright, August Strindberg.. The swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message: Tell him I know no greater man on earth ⁷. The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer living who has influenced me more strongly ⁷ A perusal through Nemesis Divina reveals that Linnaeus intimately knew the Scripture. In IV.iii.2.2 he warns the readers to be cautious about particular sins. Beware of sins writ large. There is no atonement for the sin, except the deed be undone. 1.Beware of blood,especially murder. 2.Beware of blood-guit 3. Beware of disdain for God. 4. Beware of ingratitude to parents. 5. Beware of ruining the well-being of another. 6. Beware of harming the helpless. ⁸ In IV.iii.3.3 he extols the merits of forgiveness over a spirit of revenge. When I contemplated revenge everything went wrong for me. When I changed and put everything in the hands of God, everything went well. ⁸ In IV.iv.3.2 he instructs the reader to acquire integrity, being aware of the watchfulness of God. There is no one greater than a truly honest man. Live irreproachably, God is near. God hears and sees all. ⁸ In IV.ii.1.2 he warns of the punishment the religious hypocrites receive from God for their deceitful acts. In Lisbon every All Hallows day a festive bonfire is lighted, to which the papal inquisitors,in the name of religion, lead the unfortunate sinners who are to die by burning. There is no more horrendous or cruel crime on earth than this parading of the devil s work in the name of God. It was on All Hallows day in 1755 that the earthquake, flooding and conflagration struck Lisbon, that the full force of God s punishment was visited upon these obdurate sinners. Half the earth trembled: God revealed that He could sense, hear and feel the pity for the unfortunates, despite their being heretics. The life of Linnaeus is a reminder that that one could become a great scientist without subscribing to Darwinian worldview. Linnaeus remained a creationist all his life and organized his scientific explorations within a Creationist framework. He treated his life as an opportunity God had given him to explore His creation. He took the doctrines of the Bible seriously such as Divine Creation of all universe and mankind, preeminence of man, the Original Sin and Fall the consequences of sinful life, judgment of God,the forgiveness God offers us in His Son Lord Jesus Christ. 5

6 Bibliography 1. Reid, Gordon McGregor (2009). Carolus Linnæus ( ): His Life, Philosophy and Science and Its Relationship to Modern Biology and Medicine. Taxon. 58(1), pp Frangsmyr, Tore; Lindroth, Sten; Eriksson, Gunnar; Brobery, Gunnar (1983). Linnæus, the man and his work. Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univeristy of California Press. 3. Blunt, Wilfrid (2004). Linnæus: the compleat naturalist. London: Frances Lincoln. 4. Harrison, Peter (2009). Linnæus as a second Adam? Taxonomy and the religious vocation. Zygon 44(4), p Täljedal, Inge-Bert (2010. Linnæus s Questions to the Sami Herdsman: The ID-versus-Science Issue in a Nutshell. Philosophy of the social sciences. 40(3), p Morange, Michel (2001). The Misunderstood Gene, Harvard University Press 7. What people have said about Linnaeus Linne on line. Uppsala University 8. Nemesis Divina:(Edited and Translated with Explanatory Notes by M.J.Perry) By Carl Von Linne, 2001, Kluwer Academic Publishers 9. Henig,Robin. The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Paul Kattupalli MD is a physician and author. He can be reached at comments@godandsciences.org. Paul Kattupalli MD is a physician and author. He can be reached at comments@godandsciences.org. God & Science Foundation, Inc, All Rights Reserved. 6

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Lecture 3 Natural History and Natural Theology I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 134: 14 1 Image courtesy