why is it more appropriate to compare the process of evolution with branches of a tree rather than with a ladder
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A phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree is a branching diagram or "tree" that shows the inferred evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities, and their phylogeny based upon the similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics. The taxa that are joined together in the tree imply that they have descended from a common ancestor.
Several times in the past, biologists have committed themselves to the erroneous idea that life can be organized on a ladder of lower to higher organisms. This idea lies at the heart of Aristotle's Great Chain of Being. In the ladder type of representation, it was easy to misinterpret phylogenies as implying that some organisms are more "advanced" than others; however, phylogenies don't imply this at all.
Evolution produces a pattern of relationships among lineages that is tree-like, not ladder-like. Charles Darwin (1859) produced the first illustrations and popularized the notion of an evolutionary "tree" in his seminal book The Origin of Species.
The evolutionary biologists still use tree diagrams to depict evolution because such diagrams effectively convey the concept that that speciation occurs through the adaptive and semi-random splitting of lineages. Over time, species classification has become less static and more dynamic.
Several times in the past, biologists have committed themselves to the erroneous idea that life can be organized on a ladder of lower to higher organisms. This idea lies at the heart of Aristotle's Great Chain of Being. In the ladder type of representation, it was easy to misinterpret phylogenies as implying that some organisms are more "advanced" than others; however, phylogenies don't imply this at all.
Evolution produces a pattern of relationships among lineages that is tree-like, not ladder-like. Charles Darwin (1859) produced the first illustrations and popularized the notion of an evolutionary "tree" in his seminal book The Origin of Species.
The evolutionary biologists still use tree diagrams to depict evolution because such diagrams effectively convey the concept that that speciation occurs through the adaptive and semi-random splitting of lineages. Over time, species classification has become less static and more dynamic.
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Explanation:showing the evolution in the form of tree is more appropriate because various species diversed in different directions from the common ancestor. If we show it in form of ladder then it is fixed this species must become before certain species. That might be incorrect...........
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