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Anthropocentricisms in cladograms.

Hanno Sandvik¹

¹Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway.

Biology & Philosophy

|March 18, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary history can be anthropocentric. This study identifies a fifth narrative device, the left-right ordering of taxa in cladograms, and quantifies bias in phylogenetic textbooks, finding human perspective significantly influences taxon positioning.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Philosophy of Science
Scientific Communication

Background:

Historical and graphical accounts of history are susceptible to historian bias.
O'Hara demonstrated anthropocentric biases in evolutionary history and identified four narrative devices causing them.
This study investigates a fifth narrative device: the left-right ordering of taxa in cladograms.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and define a fifth narrative device (left-right ordering) that introduces anthropocentric bias into cladograms.
To develop quantitative measures (human attention score, human rightness score) for cladogram anthropocentricism.
To analyze the prevalence of anthropocentric biases in phylogenetic textbooks.

Main Methods:

Identification of a fifth narrative device: left-right ordering of taxa in cladograms.
Definition of the human attention score and human rightness score to quantify bias.
Analysis of two cladistic phylogenetic textbooks for the presence of narrative devices and bias.

Main Results:

Three previously identified narrative devices were absent from the analyzed cladistic textbooks.
A weak tendency for cladogram branch resolution favoring Homo sapiens was observed.
A clear and significant human perspective bias was found in the left-right positioning of taxa along cladogram axes.

Conclusions:

The left-right ordering of taxa in cladograms represents a significant, quantifiable source of anthropocentric bias.
Even cladistic textbooks, aiming to avoid bias, exhibit human perspective influence, particularly in taxon arrangement.
Understanding and mitigating these biases are crucial for accurate representation of evolutionary history.