Endersby, Jim (Author)
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Volume: 40
Pages: 168--178
Some early nineteenth-century American naturalists condemned their contemporary, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783--1840), as `eccentric', or worse. Both during his life and long after his death, his botanical work in particular was criticised, even ridiculed. However, in recent years, attempts have been made to restore his reputation and the term `genius' has even been used to describe him. This paper examines this continuing fascination with this strange, disturbing figure and argues that in the competing interpretations of his life and work, Rafinesque has generally been used to typify bad classification; he is perhaps better understood in a broader, literary context as embodying a particular kind of American national identity.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Book
Boewe, Charles E.;
(2011)
The Life of C. S. Rafinesque, a Man of Uncommon Zeal
(/isis/citation/CBB001450963/)
Chapter
Cain, Arthur J.;
(2003)
Rafinesque on Classification
(/isis/citation/CBB000551276/)
Article
Woodman, Neal;
(2010)
History and Dating of the Publication of the Philadelphia (1822) and London (1823) Editions of Edwin James's Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains
(/isis/citation/CBB000933007/)
Chapter
Boewe, Charles;
(2003)
The Historical Background and Literary Sources of Rafinesque's Mammalian Taxonomy
(/isis/citation/CBB000551277/)
Article
Neal Woodman;
James G. Mead;
Michael R. McGowen;
(2020)
“Mostri Marini”: Constantine S. Rafinesque's names for three of Antonino Mongitore's Sicilian whales
(/isis/citation/CBB404745436/)
Book
Rafinesque, C. S.;
Boewe, Charles;
(2005)
A C. S. Rafinesque Anthology
(/isis/citation/CBB000671260/)
Article
Woodman, Neal;
(2015)
Who Invented the Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)? On the Authorship of the Fraudulent 1812 Journal of Charles Le Raye
(/isis/citation/CBB001422133/)
Article
Woodman, Neal;
(2015)
Who Invented the Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)? on the Authorship of the Fraudulent 1812 Journal of Charles Le Raye
(/isis/citation/CBB001500436/)
Book
Warren, Leonard;
(2004)
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque: A Voice in the American Wilderness
(/isis/citation/CBB000650193/)
Book
Boewe, Charles;
(2004)
C. S. Rafinesque and Ohio Valley Archaeology
(/isis/citation/CBB000401047/)
Article
Strasser, Bruno J.;
(2010)
Laboratories, Museums, and the Comparative Perspective: Alan A. Boyden's Quest for Objectivity in Serological Taxonomy, 1924--1962
(/isis/citation/CBB001022657/)
Article
Ambrose, C. T.;
(2010)
Darwin's Historical Sketch---An American Predecessor: C. S. Rafinesque
(/isis/citation/CBB001031431/)
Book
Johnson, Kristin;
(2012)
Ordering Life: Karl Jordan and the Naturalist Tradition
(/isis/citation/CBB001210068/)
Thesis
Marcon, Federico;
(2007)
The Names of Nature: The Development of Natural History in Japan, 1600--1900
(/isis/citation/CBB001560689/)
Article
Lorelai Kury;
Sara Albuquerque;
(2021)
Global Affinities: The Natural Method and Anomalous Plants in the Nineteenth Century
(/isis/citation/CBB283368943/)
Chapter
Endersby, Jim;
(2005)
Classifying Sciences: Systematics and Status in Mid-Victorian Natural History
(/isis/citation/CBB000740672/)
Article
Dickinson, Edward C.;
Bruce, Murray D.;
Dowsett, Robert J.;
(2006)
Vivarium naturae or the naturalist's miscellany (1789-1813) by George Shaw: An Assessment of the Dating of the Parts and Volumes
(/isis/citation/CBB000772492/)
Book
David J. Mabberley;
David T. Moore;
(2022)
The Robert Brown Handbook: A Guide to the Life and Work of Robert Brown (1773-1858), Scottish Botanist
(/isis/citation/CBB648619110/)
Article
Fernández Medina, Rita Daniela;
(2012)
Algunas reflexiones sobre la clasificación de los organismos vivos
(/isis/citation/CBB001420601/)
Article
Moore, D. T.;
(2002)
A Synopsis of Dated Entries in the Biological Collecting Notes from Eastern and Northern Australia Made by Robert Brown (1773--1858) on the Investigator Voyage of 1801--1805
(/isis/citation/CBB000740306/)
Be the first to comment!