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The tree of life and the table of the elements

Scerri, Eric and Reznik, David (2022) The tree of life and the table of the elements. OUP Blog.

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Abstract

Darwin’s tree of life and Mendeleev’s periodic table of the elements share a number of interesting parallels, the most meaningful of which lie in the central role that each plays in its respective domain.

Darwin’s tree of life, incidentally the only diagram of which appears in his book The Origin of Species, is a sketch of the central idea that all animal species have a common descent, much like members of an extended family can be displayed on a genealogical tree. Mendeleev’s periodic table is likewise the central icon for chemistry and serves to summarize and classify all the elements, the ways in which they show similarities among themselves, and how they react and bond with other elements.


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Scerri, Ericscerri@chem.ucla.edu0000-0001-9775-5829
Reznik, David
Keywords: Darwin, Evolution, classification, Mendeleev, Periodic Table, Prediction
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology
Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory
Specific Sciences > Biology > Systematics
Specific Sciences > Chemistry
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > History of Science Case Studies
General Issues > Natural Kinds
General Issues > Science Education
Depositing User: Eric Scerri
Date Deposited: 16 Jan 2025 14:26
Last Modified: 16 Jan 2025 14:26
Item ID: 24535
Journal or Publication Title: OUP Blog
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Official URL: https://blog.oup.com/2022/01/the-tree-of-life-and-...
DOI or Unique Handle: https://blog.oup.com/2022/01/the-tree-of-life-and-the-table-of-the-elements/
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Biology
Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory
Specific Sciences > Biology > Systematics
Specific Sciences > Chemistry
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > History of Science Case Studies
General Issues > Natural Kinds
General Issues > Science Education
Date: 2022
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24535

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