The Concept of Taxon: Holism and Elementarism

The hypothesis that is put forward in the article asserts that the systematic (typo­logical, classificatory, taxonomic) vision of a certain variety (set) as an object of scientific research is a fundamental condition for any particular conceptualiza­tion. According to the holistic view, a top-down movement is the starting point of theorizing and not the result of a generalization of particular conceptual con­structions. The question of what exactly ensures cognitive integrity – perception, imaginative thinking, or language – remains open and needs further research. The psychology of perception provides experimental arguments in favor of whole­ness, while formal logic appeals to the elementarian construction of the concep­tual system. Testing of our hypothesis is carried out in the form of a case-study dispute in the field of biological systematics between typological evolutionist systematics (J. Simpson, T. Cavalier-Smith, A.L. Takhiajian) and the methodol­ogy of the cladism (V. Hoenig, A.I. Shatalkin, I.Y. Pavlinov). Here two trends confront each other, which in philosophical terms can be designated as intuitio­nistic and logical-methodological ones, respectively. In the former, priority is given to a holistic classification vision bordering on typology, natural phyloge­netic classification, and the notion of the species as an element of biological real­ity. In the latter, the basic one is a separate concept with its features, artificial classification unambiguousness and analytical rigor, computer modeling, and the concept of a taxon as an element of classification. The most balanced scientific and biological position is probably a combination of both methodologies, al­though cladism is now the global mainstream in the context of the digitalization of biology. The article argues in favor of holistic methodology, although in phi­losophy and science the dispute between holism and elementarism seems to be definitively insoluble.