Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science

Today on Focus, we'll explore the historical tension between evolutionary biology and taxonomy with biologist Carol Kaesuk Yoon. As taxonomy modernized and moved into the laboratory, it began to yield results that counteracted human instinct. In fact, argues Yoon, by giving taxonomists greater scientific authority, we've contributed to our own alienation from nature.

Guest: Carol Kaesuk Yoon, Ph.D. (biologist; columnist for the New York Times "Science Times"; author of Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science)