Introduction to The Living World
Learning Objectives
- Define biology as the science of life forms and living processes
- Understand the diversity of living organisms (biodiversity)
- Explain how biological description and classification developed
- Appreciate the importance of biodiversity conservation
Introduction to The Living World
Biology is the science that studies life forms (organisms of all kinds) and living processes (functions and activities carried out by living organisms).
The Living World: General Understanding
Diversity of Living Organisms
The living world contains an enormous variety of living organisms. This variety is known as biodiversity - the total number and types of organisms on Earth.
Key points about diversity:
- Organisms exist in many forms, colours, sizes and live in a wide range of habitats (natural living places)
- Early humans could clearly distinguish between inanimate matter (non-living things such as wind, sea, fire) and living organisms
- Some inanimate objects and certain animals and plants were deified (treated as divine or worshipped) due to their power, mystery or usefulness
- All such living and non-living things evoked feelings of awe or fear in early humans
Development of Biological Description
The detailed description of living organisms, including humans, appeared much later in human history.
Important developments:
- Societies that followed an anthropocentric view (human-centred interpretation of the natural world) made only limited progress in biological studies
- Systematic and extensive descriptions of life forms eventually led to the development of structured systems for:
- Identification - recognising organisms
- Nomenclature - assigning names
- Classification - grouping organisms
Similarities Among Organisms
A major outcome of these studies was the recognition that all living organisms share similarities in two ways:
- Horizontally - similarities among present-day organisms
- Vertically - relationships with organisms that lived in the past
The understanding that all existing organisms are related to one another and to all organisms that ever lived caused a major shift in human thinking. This revelation encouraged cultural movements aimed at conservation of biodiversity (protecting the variety of life on Earth).
Looking Ahead
In subsequent topics, we will describe animals and plants scientifically from a taxonomist’s perspective (taxonomy = the science of classification). This includes detailed classification of living organisms.
Key Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biology | The science of life forms and living processes |
| Biodiversity | Total number and types of organisms |
| Habitat | Natural living place of an organism |
| Inanimate matter | Non-living things |
| Deified | Treated as divine or worshipped |
| Anthropocentric | Human-centred interpretation |
| Identification | Recognising organisms |
| Nomenclature | Assigning names to organisms |
| Classification | Grouping organisms |
| Taxonomy | Science of classification |