It is argued that both the principle of parsimony and the theory of evolution, especially that of
natural selection, are essential analytical tools in phylogenetic systematics, whereas the …

Systematists observe patterns of sameness and difference in the characteristics of taxa. On
this basis, they attempt to reach conclusions about phylogenetic relationships. Parsimony …

Phylogenetic Systematics, first published in 1966, marks a turning point in the history of
systematic biology. Willi Hennig's influential synthetic work, arguing for the primacy of the …

Darwin (1859) established the goal of systematic biology as being the production of
biological classifications that reflect the patterns of evolutionary history (phylogeny, or “true …

Abstract Bock, WJ (Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New
York, 10027) 1974. Philosophical foundations of classical evolutionary classification. Syst …

This paper includes an examination of the present and prospective interrelations between
conventional and numerical taxonomy and a discussion of the taxonomic implications of the …

DURING the past century a" phylogenetic school" of thought has flourished within the
science of taxonomy. Many taxonomists hailed the theory of evolution as an actual basis for …

Phylogeneticists hold that the study of phylogeny ought to be an empirical science, that
putative synapomorphies provide evidence on genealogical relationship, and that (aside …

Systematists should distinguish between cladistic analysis, ie, a numerical procedure, and
phylogenetic analysis, ie, the reconstruction of hierarchic descent relationships. Modern …

This is a difficult book to review, as it has a long history. The first edition (by Edward O. Wiley
alone) appeared in 1981, when I was a PhD student, and the contemporary reviews varied …