There is such a thing as phylogenesis. We will try to understand and give an accurate explanation of this phenomenon.
Unfamiliar concept
How often have you heard about phylogenesis? Surely many will assume that phylogeny is biology, or, to be more precise, the definition used in biology. But, most likely, not every educated person knows exactly what will be discussed. A quick survey of ten people showed that:
- phylogenesis is “something like photosynthesis” (four out of ten people suggested so);
- phylogenesis - mutation of living cells (two out of ten);
- phylogeny is a term used in genetics and refers to the process of "creating new individuals" (one out of ten);
- three more people shrugged their shoulders in bewilderment when asked what phylogenesis is.
However, despite the obvious ignorance of this issue, none of the respondents remained indifferent. Each of them wanted to know: what is phylogeny?
Phylogenesis (Biology)
Phylogenesis is the evolutionary development of any biological system. This term was introduced into scientific circulation by the Germannatural scientist and philosopher Ernst Heinrich Haeckel in 1866. This definition refers to the changes that occur in the process of evolution of various types of the organic world. The basis for the emergence of the field of phylogenesis in biology was the "evolutionary doctrine" of the English naturalist and traveler Charles Robert Darwin.
After the concept of phylogeny appeared, other definitions, different from the original, were formed in science. So, Ivan Ivanovich Schmalhausen, a Soviet biologist, understood phylogenesis as a historical series of ontogeneses that passed the selection, interconnected as “ancestor-descendant.”
Phylogenesis is a very long process, it lasts for many millions of years. That is why it cannot be an object of direct observation, and is studied by recreating and modeling events and phenomena that have already occurred. At the same time, evolution is understood as a process during which the genetic line (ancestors) gives rise to offshoots (descendants) with natural changes that occurred during this process or completely led to the extinction of the species.
The ratio of phylogenesis and ontogenesis
Ontogeny is a concept that came into scientific use even before the appearance of the doctrine of phylogenesis and which denotes the personal formation of an organism and the totality of successive transformations it undergoes in the course of life. After the discovery of the biogenetic law by Friedrich Müller and Ernst Haeckel in the middle of the 19th century, phylogenesis is studied in conjunction with ontogeny.
According to this law, any ontogeny, in fact, is a brief and quick repetition of the phylogeny of a given species. At the same time, ontogeny and phylogenesis can be considered as "private and general". The connection between these two concepts was also confirmed by Charles Darwin in the doctrine of recapitulations, which preaches the repetition in embryos in the process of ontogenesis of the signs of their phylogenesis ancestors. Charles Darwin identified two main types of recapitulations: atavism and rudiment.
Use of phylogenesis by various sciences
Phylogenesis is a doctrine that is very important for a number of sciences, including embryology, paleontology, comparative anatomy and even psychology. At the same time, phylogenetics, which studies the history of the development of various types of organisms, for the most effective study of evolution at the present stage, refers to the achievements of such sciences as biochemistry, physiology, genetics, ethology, molecular biology, etc.
Phylogenesis in psychology
In psychology, phylogenesis means the historical development of something in the process of evolution. Phylogeny in psychology is a reflection of development through the mental state of individuals. Animals are characterized by an instinctive existence in the world around them, based on reflexes. Higher animals, among others, are also characterized by the manifestation of reason. In turn, a person, in addition to the above characteristics, also has consciousness and thinking. It is with the help of phylogenesis that psychology is able to conduct such studies,looking for the basis and factors that shaped the human psyche in the form in which it currently exists.
The meaning of phylogenesis
Phylogenesis is one of the most important links in the development of all living things. From the moment of his appearance in the scientific field, he has taken the most important place in understanding the evolution and development of not only the human race, but also all living organisms. Studies of this phenomenon are necessary for the development of a general theory of evolution and the construction of a natural system of organisms. The basis on which the doctrinal provisions of phylogeny are built lies in the theory of natural selection. At the moment, it should be said that the phylogeny of various groups of organisms has been studied unevenly, which is determined by the different preservation of the remains and fossils, on the basis of which it would be possible to reliably build a phylogenetic (pedigree) tree. At present, the phylogeny of the higher groups of vertebrates is the most studied. If we talk about invertebrates, then the most studied of them include mollusks, arthropods, brachiopods and some others.
Of course, in the light of the great interest in the origin of the world, its components and, in particular, man, such a scientific phenomenon as phylogeny is of great importance for mankind to know itself and the world around.
