Linnaeus predated the theory of evolution by about a century. His
work showing a hierarchical arrangement of plant and animal traits is
one of the major pieces of evidence for evolution. He was criticized
by the creationists of his day for placing humans in the same order as
monkeys.
Linnaeus was very pious and believed that God created all things, but
he was, foremost, an objective scientist. He wrote with contempt
of a pastor who quoted scripture to prove that clouds were solid
objects and of another priest who "reproached me for paying too much
attention to worldly vanities at the expense of spiritual matters, and
said that many souls were lost through hankering after learning" (Blunt
1971, 59-60). In time, Linnaeus came to doubt the historical accuracy
of the Bible regarding the young age of the earth and could not believe
in a universal flood or creation in just six days (Blunt 1971, 179).
Linnaeus did believe in evolution within genera: "It is impossible to
doubt that there are new species produced by hybrid generation"
(Linne 1760).
References:
Blunt, Wilfrid. 1971. The Compleat Naturalist: A Life of Linnaeus.
New York: Viking.
Linne, C. 1760. Disquisitio de sexu plantarum ab Academia Imperiali
Scientiarum Petropolitana praemio ornata. Amoenitates Academicae 10:
100-131. Quoted in Rieseberg, L. H., 1997. Hybrid origins of plant
species. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 28: 359-389.
