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Keith Thomas Research Paper

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Rough Draft: Final Essay Evolution, a controversial concept that continues to be debated on whether it helped or impeded the advancement of our society. Although many may argue that the perception of life hasn’t changed, people must be informed in order to understand the significant impact the theory of evolution has on creationism, the origins of life, and the environment. In the early 17th century there was greater tension between the church and scientists, additionally these tensions continued expanding as new discoveries were being made by scientists. These discoveries contradicted the teachings of the church and threatened to undermine their authority. The church argued that God was the creator of every living organism on earth, but …show more content…

The few plants and animals that we had knowledge about, were only classified based on how useful and common they were to humans. Eventually, scientists began classifying everything they could to make their identifying process simpler, easier, and more efficient. As scientists studied the natural world more in debt, they developed more advanced classification systems. However, the major flaw that these systems still had was their heavy reliance on appearance which enforced classification. In Keith Thomas’ article titled Classification, Thomas discusses the origins of Classification and how they shifted from identifying species by appearance to identifying them based on their qualities instead. In the article, Thomas goes on to say that “classification shapes our perspectives and our behavior” (Thomas). The more you read the statement, the more you realize the truth hidden within it. Some of the unbearable traits that came along with the classification process were hatred, racism, and isolation. People used classification to put labels on certain groups of people and used it as a means of shunning them. Many people unconsciously follow stereotypes; however, those who do it willingly do so to make themselves feel superior over others. Since the introduction of it, classification has expanded significantly and has reached the point to where it is being used to label

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