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SUMMARY:&quot\;Ordering Nature&quot\; in Early China: A Cross-Cultural Com
 parison of Classifying Animals and Plants - Dr Yumi Suzuki\, Lloyd Dan Dav
 id Research Fellow\, Darwin College
DTSTART:20260303T131000Z
DTEND:20260303T140000Z
UID:TALK243064@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Matthew Jones
DESCRIPTION:Is the classification of nonhuman living beings universal acro
 ss different languages and cultures? Do we\, or should we\, as human being
 s\, all perceive and categorize the natural world in the same way? Even th
 ough “nature” ostensibly provides all humans with the same objective v
 iew\, extant sources from antiquity suggest otherwise. A comparative study
  of the taxonomy of animals and plants in ancient Greece and early China r
 eveals the ambiguity and diversity of human cognition of\, and vocabulary 
 for describing and explaining\, the natural world and its “order”. Ear
 ly Chinese sources demonstrate a unique way of perceiving\, understanding\
 , classifying and interpreting non-human beings: no equivalent to what is 
 traditionally called (Aristotle’s) “zoology” or (Theophrastus’) 
 “botany” is found. There is even no single character or word in Classi
 cal Chinese synonymous with the Greek “zōa” (animal) or “phuta” (
 plant). Did they lack a (proto-)scientific view? Or\, were they right in s
 uggesting that nonhuman living beings cannot be divided into such simple c
 ategories? The ancient Chinese may offer an interesting alternative view o
 f the continuity\, and even the unclassifiability\, of different “specie
 s”.\n
LOCATION:Richard King room\, Darwin College
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