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Week 1: Commentary to Linnaeus' explanation of nature's economy
“A wise God has endowed each organism with the ‘clothing,’ seeds, roots, or migratory instincts it will need to best perform its role,” (Webster, 35). Linnaeus’ argument is that nature has a permanent balance; that all animals are given the ability and the know-how to perform their purpose in serving each other for the greater good. Every creature’s existence holds equal importance to those above or beneath it. This “Circle of Life” concept of nature seems fairly elementary, but its truth can be seen between any and all creatures. Linnaeus effectively uses the example of a species reproducing beyond its expected numbers. If this particular species did not instinctively and continuously procreate in order to expand their population rather than keep it constant, their numbers surely would decline due to certain loss caused by their natural predators. This give-and-take law of nature applies to all living organisms and is testimony to the balance needed to ensure a peaceful ecosystem. While I believe this understanding is true, I cannot help but wonder what will become of our ecosystem now that some species are extinct. I realize that many species have been extinct for quite a while, so this makes me question whether if nature today is as balanced as we belief it to be. With every newly extinct species, is nature slowly becoming more and more out of balance? Whose duty is it to protect this balance, if not the Creator’s? Linnaeus clearly answers these questions when he claims that “Although [we are] like any other species in living as subordinate parts of the divine order, humans at the same time occupy a special place of dignity and honor,” (Worster 36). He claims that our role as the highest authority in nature is to use God’s creations to our highest benefit and to eliminate anything and everything that is not of use to us; for he claims that “‘all things are made for the sake of man,’” (Worster 37). Perhaps this idea of dominance derived from the idea that man was created in God’s image as stated in the Holy Bible; but does this notion of being like God give man the god-like authority to pick and choose the ordinance of nature? I do not believe so. We, as a species, must use our given instincts and abilities to perform our own role by protecting and preserving nature’s ecology.
