Layman's Linné: How Historical Recontextualization Turned Science Into Racism

HEVA

RESEARCH

Layman's Linné: How Historical Recontextualization Turned Science Into Racism

Abstract

This paper examines Carl Linnaeus's seventeen thirty-three to seventeen ninety-three work Systema naturae and its misrepresentation as inherently racially biased. Using historical analysis of primary texts and recent historiographies, I demonstrate that Linnaeus's framework was methodological rather than hierarchical, which later grew into a progeny far bigger than its father, by men in pursuit of ideological gains. The study positions Linnaeus within the greater context of the historical period of the enlightenment, and its focus on universality and order. Restoring the legacy of Linnaeus reclaims his indispensable taxonomy and rightly attributes the work to Linnaeus. This paper challenges the oversimplified narrative that equates the correct classification of man with racism, drawing attention to the danger of erasing historical figures from their creations.