Summations Only

Was biology even a science (as we recognize the word) before Darwin? I confess I don't know.I'm reminded how it was never a scientific belief that the heavens revolved about the earth since science itself only developed during the transition to the heliocentric model.I wonder whether biology was in a similar state before Darwin?

I've said many, many times that the nested hierarchy is, for me, the single best evidence for common descent.

Thanks for responding, CRR.I realize that people were "doing" biology before Darwin. The question is whether their activities met the definition of what we now call science. Maybe they did, I don't know.