Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026)
Articles

Language, Nature, and Society: A Grey Future for the Linnaean Names of Animals and Plants

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  • Alessandro Minelli
Alessandro Minelli
già Professore di Zoologia, Facoltà di Scienze Matematiche, Fisiche e Naturali, Università di Padova, Italia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/an-17218

Published 2026-03-26

Keywords

  • Linnaean taxonomy,
  • biological nomenclature,
  • species concept,
  • biodiversity data,
  • semantic instability,
  • decolonization of science
    • ...More
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alessandro Minelli

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The essay examines the historical foundations and current challenges of Linnaean taxonomy in light of contemporary debates on biological nomenclature, data management, and social pressures. It traces the persistence of Linnaean principles, such as the fixity of species and the universality of names, through the evolutionary and digital ages, highlighting the growing instability of taxonomic concepts and the fragmentation of species lists. Particular attention is given to recent calls for reform, including the replacement of politically or culturally sensitive names and the proposal to adopt indigenous nomenclatures. These developments are assessed as potential threats to the consistency and universality of scientific naming, revealing tensions between scientific governance, technological mediation, and societal values in the representation of biodiversity.

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