PART II - THE METHOD OF INVESTIGATING THE CHARACTERS OF ANIMALS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2010
Summary
In order to render complete the history of any species of animal, it is necessary to examine the peculiar character of all those systems of organs which have been noticed in the first volume of this Work, and to ascertain those laws which regulate its physical and geographical distribution. As this method of investigation is both laborious and difficult, it has been successfully practised by few. The greater number of naturalists have rested satisfied with an examination of the external characters of animals, and have overlooked those which are furnished by their internal structure. In order to form a correct opinion of the merits of these different methods of investigation, we ought to bearin mind, that the history of a species is incomplete, when its external characters only have been determined; that many of these characters are liable to change, and are, consequently, apt to mislead. The characters, on the other hand, furnished by structure are more permanent, yield more certain results, and are more engaging to a philosophical mind. On this important subject, however, it will be necessary to go more into detail, and to consider what those different characters are, and how they are ascertained.
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- Information
- The Philosophy of ZoologyOr a General View of the Structure, Functions, and Classification of Animals, pp. 112 - 135Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1822