Table 1: The Outline of Knowledge in the Propdia 10 Parts 41 Divisions 167 Sections 1.1.

1 Structure and Properties of Atoms 1.1.2 Atomic Nuclei and Elementary Particles 1.2.1 Chemical Elements: Periodic Variation in Their Properti es 1.2.2 Chemical Compounds: Molecular Structure and Chemica l Bonding 1.2.3 Chemical Reactions Nigel 1.2.4 Heat, Thermodynamics, Liquids, Gases, Plasmas Calde 1.2.5 The Solid State of Matter r 1.2.6 Mechanics of Particles, Rigid and Deformable Bodies: El asticity, Vibration, and Flow 1.2.7 Electricity and Magnetism, 1.2.8 Waves and Wave Motion 1.3.1 The Cosmos, 1.3.2 Galaxies and Stars 1.3.3 The Solar System Structu 2.1.1 The Planet Earth 2.1.2 Earths Physical Properties 2.1.3 Structure and Composition of the Earths Interior 2.1.4 Minerals and Rocks 2.2.1 The Atmosphere 2.2.2 The Hydrosphere: the Oceans, Freshwater and Ice Masse Peter John s 2.2.3 Weather and Climate Wylli 2.3.1 Physical Features of the Earths Surface e 2.3.2 Features Produced by Geomorphic Processes 2.4.1 Origin and Development of the Earth and Its Envelopes 2.4.2 The Interpretation of the Geologic Record 2.4.3 Eras and Periods of Geologic Time 3.1.1 Characteristics of Life 3.1.2 The Origin and Evolution of Life 3.1.3 Classification of Living Things 3.2.1 Chemicals and the Vital Processes 3.2.2 Metabolism: Bioenergetics and Biosynthesis 3.2.3 Vital Processes at the Molecular Level 3.3.1 Cellular Basis of Form and Function 3.3.2 Relation of Form and Function in Organisms 3.3.3 Coordination of Vital Processes: Regulation and Integrati on 3.3.4 Covering and Support: Integumentary, Skeletal, and Mus culatory Systems Ren 3.3.5 Nutrition: the Procurement and Processing of Nutrients Dubos 3.3.6 Gas Exchange, Internal Transport, and Elimination 3.3.7 Reproduction and Sex 3.3.8 Development: Growth, Differentiation, and Morphogene sis 3.3.9 Heredity: the Transmission of Traits 3.4.1 Nature and Patterns of Behavior 3.4.2 Development and Range of Behavioral Capacities: Indivi dual and Group Behavior 3.5.1 Basic Features of the Biosphere 3.5.2 Populations and Communities 3.5.3 Disease and Death 3.5.4 Biogeographic Distribution of Organisms: Ecosystems 3.5.5 The Place of Humans in the Biosphere 4.1.1 Human Evolution Loren The The Great Globe Itself The Universe of the Physicist , the Chemist, and the Astrono mer Lead Auth or Introdu ction

1.1 Atoms

1. Matter 1.2 Energy, Radiation, and and Energy States of Matter

1.3 The Universe 2.1 Earths Properties, re, Composition 2.2 Earths Envelope 2. The Earth 2.3 Surface Features 2.4 Earths History

3.1 The Nature and Diversity of Life 3.2 The Molecular Basis of Life

3. Life

3.3 The Structures and Functions of Organisms

The Mysterie s of Life

3.4 The Behavior of Organisms

3.5 The Biosphere

4. Human 4.1 The Development

Life

of Human Life 4.2 The Human Body: Health and Disease

4.1.2 Human Heredity: the Races 4.2.1 The Structures and Functions of the Human Body 4.2.2 Human Health 4.2.3 Human Diseases 4.2.4 The Practice of Medicine and Care of Health 4.3.1 Human nature and Experience 4.3.2 External Influence on Behavior & Experience: Attention, Sensation, Perception 4.3.3 Internal States Affecting Behavior and Conscious Experi ence 4.3.4 Persisting Capacities and Inclinations Influencing Behavi or and Conscious Experience 4.3.5 Development of Learning and Thinking 4.3.6 Personality and the Self: Integration and Disintegration 5.1.1 Peoples and Cultures of the World 5.1.2 The Development of Human Culture 5.1.3 Major Cultural Components and Institutions of Societies 5.1.4 Language and Communication 5.2.1 Social Structure and Change 5.2.2 The Group Structure of Society 5.2.3 Social Status 5.2.4 Human Populations: Urban and Rural Communities

Eisele Cosmic y Orphan

4.3 Human Behavior and Experience

5.1 Social Groups: Peoples and Cultures

5.2 Social Organization and Social Change

5.3 The Production, Distribution, and Utilization of Wealth 5. Society

5.4 Politics and Government

5.3.1 Economic Concepts, Issues, and Systems 5.3.2 Consumer and Market: Pricing and Mechanisms for Dist ributing Goods Harol 5.3.3 The Organization of Production and Distribution d D. 5.3.4 The Distribution of Income and Wealth 5.3.5 Macroeconomics 5.3.6 Economic Growth and Planning Lassw ell 5.4.1 Political Theory 5.4.2 Political Institutions: the Structure, Branches, & Offices of Government 5.4.3 Functioning of Government: the Dynamics of the Politic al Process 5.4.4 International Relations: Peace and War 5.5.1 Philosophies and Systems of Law; the Practice of Law 5.5.2 Branches of Public Law, Substantive and Procedural 5.5.3 Branches of Private Law, Substantive and Procedural 5.6.1 Aims and Organization of Education 5.6.2 Education Around the World 6.1.1 Theory and Classification of the Arts 6.1.2 Experience and Criticism of Art; the Nonaesthetic Conte xt of Art 6.1.3 Characteristics of the Arts in Particular Cultures 6.2.1 Literature 6.2.2 Theater 6.2.3 Motion Pictures 6.2.4 Music 6.2.5 Dance 6.2.6 Architecture, Garden and Landscape Design, and Urban Design 6.2.7 Sculpture 6.2.8 Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Photography 6.2.9 Decoration and Functional Design 7.1.1 Technology: Its Scope and History 7.1.2 The Organization of Human Work Lord '7.2.1 Technology of Energy Conversion and Utilization Peter 7.2.2 Technology of Tools and Machines [di Ritchi 7.2.3 Technology of Measurement, Observation, and Control esambiguation needed] Calde r 7.2.4 Extraction and Conversion of Industrial Raw Materials 7.2.5 Technology of Industrial Production Processes

Man the Social Animal

5.5 Law

5.6 Education

6.1 Art in General

6. Art 6.2 Particular Arts

Mark "The Van World of Doren Art

7.1 Nature & Development of Technology

7. Techno logy 7.2 Elements of Technology

Knowin g How and Knowing Why

7.3 Fields of Technology

7.3.1 Agriculture and Food Production 7.3.2 Technology of the Major Industries 7.3.3 Construction Technology 7.3.4 Transportation Technology 7.3.5 Technology of Information Processing and of Communic ations Systems 7.3.6 Military Technology 7.3.7 Technology of the Urban Community 7.3.8 Technology of Earth and Space Exploration 8.1.1 Knowledge and Understanding of Religion 8.1.2 Religious Life: Institutions and Practices 8.2.1 Prehistoric Religion and Primitive Religion 8.2.2 Religions of Ancient Peoples 8.2.3 Hinduism and Other Religions of India 8.2.4 Buddhism 8.2.5 Indigenous Religions of East Asia: Religions of China, K orea, and Japan 8.2.6 Judaism 8.2.7 Christianity 8.2.8 Islam 8.2.9 Other Religions and Religious Movements in the Moder n World 9.1.1 Ancient Southwest Asia and Egypt, the Aegean, and Nor th Africa 9.1.2 Ancient Europe and Classical Civilizations of the Medite rranean to AD 395 9.2.1 The Byzantine Empire and Europe from AD 3951050 9.2.2 The Formative Period in Islamic History, AD 6221055 9.2.3 Western Christendom in the High and Later Middle Ages 10501500 9.2.4 The Crusades, the Islamic States, and Eastern Christendo m 10501480 9.3.1 China to the Beginning of the Late Tang AD 755 9.3.2 China from the Late Tang to the Late Ching AD 755 1839 9.3.3 Central and Northeast Asia to 1750 9.3.4 Japan to the Meiji Restoration 1868, Korea to 1910 9.3.5 The Indian Subcontinent and Ceylon to AD 1200 9.3.6 The Indian Subcontinent 12001761, Ceylon 1200 1505 9.3.7 Southeast Asia to 1600 9.4.1 West Africa to 1885 9.4.2 The Nilotic Sudan and Ethiopia AD 5501885 9.4.3 East Africa and Madagascar to 1885 9.4.4 Central Africa to 1885 9.4.5 Southern Africa to 1885 9.5.1 Andean Civilization to AD 1540 9.5.2 MesoAmerican Civilization to AD 1540 9.6.1 Western Europe 15001789 9.6.2 Eastern Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa 1480 1800 9.6.3 Europe 17891920 9.6.4 European Colonies in the Americas 14921790 9.6.5 United States and Canada 17631920 9.6.6 LatinAmerica and Caribbean to 1920 9.6.7 Australia and Oceania to 1920 9.6.8 South Asia Under European Imperialism 15001920 9.6.9 Southeast Asia Under European Imperialism 1600 1920 9.6.10 China until Revolution 18391911, Japan from Meiji Restoration to 1910 9.6.11 Southwest Asia, North Africa 18001920, SubSaharan Africa 18851920: Under European Imperialism 9.7.1 International Movements, Diplomacy and War Since 192 0 9.7.2 Europe Since 1920 Wilfre d Cantw ell Smith Religio n as Symboli sm

8.1 Religion in General

8. Religion 8.2 Particular Religions

9.1 Ancient Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Europe

9.2 Medieval Southwest Asia North Africa and Europe

9.3 East, Central, South, and Southeast Asia

9. History

9.4 Sub-Saharan Africa to 1885

9.5 Pre-Columbian America

The Point Jacqu and es Pleasure Barzu of n Reading History

9.6 The Modern World to 1920

9.7 The World Since 1920

9.7.3 The United States and Canada Since 1920 9.7.4 Latin American and Caribbean Nations Since 1920 9.7.5 China in Revolution, Japanese Hegemony 9.7.6 South and Southeast Asia: the Late Colonial Period and Nations Since 1920 9.7.7 Australia and Oceania Since 1920 9.7.8 Southwest Asia and Africa: the Late Colonial Period and Nations since 1920 10.1 Logic 10.1.1 History and Philosophy of Logic 10.1.2 Formal Logic, Metalogic, & Applied Logic 10.2.1 History and Foundations of Mathematics 10.2.2 Branches of Mathematics 10.2.3 Applications of Mathematics 10.3.1 History and Philosophy of Science 10.3.2 The Physical Sciences 10.3.3 The Earth Sciences 10.3.4 The Biological Sciences 10.3.5 Medicine 10.3.6 The Social Sciences, Psychology, Linguistics 10.3.7 The Technological Sciences 10.4.1 Historiography 10.4.2 The Humanities and Humanistic Scholarship 10.5.1 History of Philosophy 10.5.2 Divisions of Philosophy 10.5.3 Philosophical Schools and Doctrines 10.6.1 Institutions and Techniques for the Collection, Storage, Dissemination and Preservation of Knowledge Knowle dge Morti Become mer J. SelfAdler consciou s

10.2 Mathematics

10. Branc hes 10.3 Science of Knowl edge 10.4 History and The Humanities 10.5 Philosophy 10.6 Preservation of Knowledge

The Outline was an eight-year project of Mortimer J. Adler, published 32 years after he published a similar effort (The Syntopicon) that attempts to provide an overview of the relationships among the "Great Ideas" in Adler's Great Books series. (The Great Books were also published by the Encyclopdia Britannica Inc.) Adler stresses in his book, A Guidebook to Learning: For a Lifelong Pursuit of Wisdom, that the ten categories should not be taken as hierarchical but as circular. The whole of the Propdias synoptic outline of knowledge deserves to be read carefully. It represents a twentieth-century scheme for the organization of knowledge that is more comprehensive than any other and that also accommodates the intellectual heterodoxy of our time. Mortimer J. Adler, in A Guidebook [edit] Similar works Other encyclopedias have provided analogous outlines of knowledge. In the Preface to the famous Encyclopdie (published 1751-1772), Diderot provides a roadmap to the knowledge of his time. Inspired by that example, in a letter dated 15 November 1812, Dugald Stewart proposed to Archibald Constable, the owner and publisher of the Britannica, that the supplement to its 5th edition should begin with a series of dissertations that outlined and organized the knowledge of their time. [edit] Contributors to the Outline of Knowledge Table 2: Contributors to the Outline of Knowledge in the Propdia[2] Date of birth Date of death Part of Outline Index

Name

Description

Mortimer J. Adler Charles Van Doren William J.

1902 1926

2001

All Parts All Parts

Editor Associate editor; Editorial Vice President of Encyclopdia Britannica Inc. (1973-1982)

1 2

1982

All Parts

Associate editor; Senior Fellow of the Institute for Philosophical 3

Gorman A. G. W. Cameron Farrington Daniels Morton Hamermesh Vincent E. Parker Richard J. Chorley William Stelling von Arx Peter John Wyllie N. J. Berrill Vincent Dethier Louis S. Goodman Garrett Hardin Ernst Walter Mayr John Alexander Moore 1915 1904 1915 2003 2005 2002 1915 1993 1927 2002 1925 1889 2005 1972 Matter and Energy Matter and Energy Matter and Energy Matter and Energy The Earth The Earth The Earth Life on Earth Life on Earth Life on Earth Life on Earth Life on Earth Life on Earth

Research Professor of Astronomy, Harvard University Professor of Chemistry, University of WisconsinMadison, Madison Professor of Physics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (1975-1986) Emeritus Professor of Physics, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Dean, School of Science (1967-1977) Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge; Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (19681978) 4 5 6 7 8 9

Professor of Geology and Chairman, Division of Geological and 10 Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology Strathcone Professor of Zoology, McGill University (19461965) Gilbert L. Woodside Professor of Zoology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1975-1993) Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City Emeritus Professor of Human Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara Alexander Agassiz Professor Emeritus of Zoology, Harvard University Emeritus Professor of Biology, University of California, Riverside 11 12 13 14 15 16

Theodore T. Puck 1916

2005

Life on Earth

Professor of Biology, Biophysics and Genetics; Distinguished Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado, Health Sciences 17 Center; Director, Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research Head, Vennesland Research Laboratory, Max Planck Society (1970-1981); Director, Max Planck Institute for Cell Physiology, Berlin (1968-1970) Professor of Biology, Brown University Emeritus Professor of Botany, Harvard University D. Mead Johnson Professor of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University Professor of Anatomy, University of Oxford Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland; Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore Professor of Antropology, University of California, Berkeley Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Duke University Associate Professor of Psychology, Purdue University 18 19 20 21 22

Birgit Vennesland Paul B. Weisz Ralph H. Wetmore Emil H. White Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark Russell S. Fisher F. Clark Howell Gregory A. Kimble Erich 1895 1971

Life on Earth Life on Earth Life on Earth Life on Earth Human Life

1985

Human Life Human Life Human Life Human Life

23 24 25 26

Klinghammer Warren Sturgis McCulloch William J. McGuire 1899 1969 Human Life Human Life Staff member, Research Laboratory of Electronics, MIT (19521969) Professor of Psychology, Yale University 27 28

Peter Medawar

1915

1987

Human Life

Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1960; Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, University College London (1951-1962); Director, National Institute, Mill Hill, 29 London (1962-1971); Scientific staff member, Medical Research Council, England (1971-1984) Professor of Economics, New York University; Emeritus Professor of Economics, Princeton University Henry Ford II Professor Emeritus of Social Science, Harvard University Former Professor of Linguistics, University of Turin Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Colorado, Boulder Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, SUNY, Stony Brook Giddings Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Columbia University Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Harvard University (1955-1971) Professor of Sociology and Chairman, Department of Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago Professor of Economics, Northwestern University Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara and University of Chicago 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

William J. Baumol Daniel Bell Guiliano H. Bonfante Kenneth E. Boulding Lewis A. Coser Sigmund Diamond

1922 1919

Human Society Human Society Human Society

1910 1913

1993 2003

Human Society Human Society Human Society

Carl J. Friedrich 1901 Paul Mundy Kenyon E. Poole C. Herman Pritchett Sol Tax Charles Raymond Whittlesey Rudolf Arnheim Robert Jesse Charleston Clifton Fadiman Francis Fergusson John Gloag Richard Griffith 1904 1904 1904 1907

1984

Human Society Human Society

1988

Human Society Human Society

1995

Human Society Human Society Art

Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago (1948-1976); 40 Director, Center for the Study of Man, Smithsonian Institution Emeritus Professor of Finance and Economics, University of Pennsylvania Emeritus professor of Psychology of Art, Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University Keeper, Department of Ceramics, Victoria and Albert Museum (1963-1976) Member, Board of Editors, Encyclopdia Britannica Professor of Comparative Literature, Rutgers University (19531969); Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University (1973-1981) Novelist and writer on architecture and industrial design Curator, Museum of Modern Art Film Library (1951-1965); Lecturer on Motion Pictures, Wesleyan University (1967-1969) Professor of English, University of Birmingham (1962-1973); Warden, Goldsmiths' College, University of London (19761984) 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

1994 1999 1986 1981 1969

Art Art Art Art Art

Richard Hoggart 1918

Art

48

Edward Lockspeiser Roy McMullen Leonard B. Meyer Michael Morrow Beaumont Newhall 1908 1918

1973 1984

Art Art Art

Officier d'Acadmie, Paris; Writer and broadcaster on music. Author, critic, and art historian Benjamin Franklin Professor of Music and Humanities, University of Pennsylvania Music editor, Encyclopdia Britannica; Director, Musica Reservata, London Director, Eastman Kodak House (1958-1971); Visiting Professor of Art, University of New Mexico (1971-1984) Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art, University of Edinburgh (1931-1933); editor, The Burlington Magazine (1933-1939); Charles Eliot Norton professor of Poetry, Harvard University (1953-1954) Program Director, London (1959-1963) and New York (19631987) Film Festivals; Film critic, The Guardian (1963-1969) Art consultant; author of Porcelain Through the Ages, Pottery Through the Ages, and other works Professor of Fine Arts, Oberlin College (1940-1963) William Rainey Harper Professor of Humanities and Professor of Art, University of Chicago (1963-1974); Director, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution Professor of Fine Arts, Columbia University (1951-1970) Chief Curator, Cluny Museum (1945-1965); Chief Curator, National Museum of Svres Porcelain (1945-1965); Chief Curator of Art Objects from the Middle Ages to the Modern Period, Louvre Museum (1945-1965) Sterling Professor of Comparative Literature, Yale University (1952-1972) Emeritus Professor of Drama, University of Bristol; Dean, Faculty of Arts (1970-1972) Professor of Drama, University of Cambridge (1974-1983); Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge (1961-1988)

49 50 51 52 53

1994 1993

Art Art

Herbert Read

1893

1968

Art

54

Richard Roud George Savage Wolfgang Stechow Joshua C. Taylor Everard M. Upjohn

1989 1982 1974

Art Art Art

55 56 57

1981

Art

58

1978

Art

59

Pierre Verlet

Art

60

Ren Wellek Glynne William Gladstone Wickham Raymond (Henry) Williams Paul S. Wingert Bruno Zevi Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis Eugene S. Ferguson Melvin Kranzberg Harvey G. Mehlhouse

1903

1995

Art

61

Art

62

1988 1974 1918 2000

Art Art Art

63

Professor of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University 64 Professor of Architectural History, University of Rome (19631979) Chairman, Doxiadis Associates International; Chairman, Board of Directors, Doxiadis Associates, Inc.; Washington D.C. Chairman, Board of Directors, Athens Technological Organization; President, Athens Center of Ekistics Emeritus Professor of History, University of Delaware; Curator of Technology, Hagley Museum, Greenville Delaware Callaway Professor of the History of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology (1972-1988) Vice President, Western Electric Company, New York City (1965-1969); President (1969-1971); Chairman of the Board (1971-1972) 65

1975

Technology

66

1916 1917

2004 1995

Technology Technology

67 68

Technology

69

Robert Smith Woodbury Arthur Llewellyn 1914 Basham James T. Burtchaell J. V. Langmead Casserley Ichiro Hori Jaroslav Jan Pelikan Jakob Josef Petuchowski Jacques Barzun Otto Allen Bird 1907 1923

1983 1986

Technology Religion Religion

Professor of the History of Technology, MIT

70

Professor of Asian Civilizations, Australian National University 71 Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame; Provost (1970-1977) Professor of Apologetics, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Professor of the History of Religions, Seijo University and Kokugakuin University Sterling Professor of History, Yale University; President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judeo-Christian Studies, Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati (1981-1991) 72 73 74 75

1978 1974 2006

Religion Religion Religion

1991

Religion

76

The History of University Professor Emeritus, Columbia University; Dean of Mankind Faculties and Provost (1958-1967) The Branches of Knowledge Emeritus Professor of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame Professor of Chinese Philosophy and Culture, Dartmouth College (1942-1966); Anna R. D. Gillespie Professor of Philosophy, Chatham University (1966-1982) Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and of History, University of Ottawa Professor of Philosophy, Yale University (1963-1967) Charles L. Still Professor of History, Yale University (19671978); Distinguished Historian in residence, Washington University (1978-1986) Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Professor of Mathematics, Illinois Institute of Technology (1946-1971) Fellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford; Professor of Philosophy, Manchester University (1959-1966) University Professor of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh; editor, American Philosophical Quarterly Professor of Mathematics, Carleton College

77 78

Wing-Tsit Chan

1901

1994

The Branches of Knowledge The Branches of Knowledge

79

William H. Dray Norwood Hanson 1967

80 81

The Branches of Knowledge The Branches of Knowledge The Branches of Knowledge

J. H. Hexter Ernan V. McMullin Karl Menger Arthur Norman Prior

1910

1996

82

83 84 85 86 87

1902

1985 1969

The Branches of Knowledge The Branches of Knowledge The Branches of Knowledge The Branches of Knowledge

Nicholas Rescher 1928 Seymour Schuster

[edit] See also

The Daisy Chain of Being

God At once at the top of the Chain of Being, but also external to creation, God was believed to stand outside the physical limitations of time. He possessed the spiritual attributes of reason, love, and imagination, like all spiritual beings, but he alone possessed the divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. God serves as the model of authority for the strongest, most virtuous, most excellent type of being within a specific category (the "primate"). Angelic Beings Beings of pure spirit, angels had no physical bodies of their own. In order to affect the physical world, angels were thought to build temporary bodies for themselves out of particles of air. Medieval and Renaissance theologians believed angels to possess reason, love, imagination, andlike Godto stand outside the physical limitations of time. They possessed sensory awareness unbound by physical organs, and they possessed language. They lacked, however, the divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God, and they simultaneously lacked the physical passions experienced by humans and animals. Depending upon the author, the class of angels was further subdivided into three, seven, nine, or ten ranks, variously known as triads, orders or choirs. Each rank had greater power and responsibility than the entities below them. The most common classification is that of St. Thomas Aquinas:

Angelic Primate: Seraphim o Seraphim o Cherubim o Thrones (Ophanim) o Dominations o Principalities o Powers o Virtues o Archangels o Angels

Humanity For Medieval and Renaissance thinkers, humans occupied a unique position on the Chain of Being, straddling the world of spiritual beings and the world of physical creation. Humans were thought to possess divine powers such as reason, love, and imagination. Like angels, humans were spiritual beings, but unlike angels, human souls were "knotted" to a physical body. As such, they were subject to passions and physical sensationspain, hunger, thirst, sexual desirejust like other animals lower on the Chain of the Being. They also possessed the powers of reproduction unlike the minerals and rocks lowest on the Chain of Being. Humans had a particularly difficult position, balancing the divine and the animalistic parts of their nature. For instance, an angel is only capable of intellectual sin such as pride (as evidenced by Lucifer's fall from heaven in Christian belief). Humans, however, were capable of both intellectual sin and physical sins such as lust and gluttony if they let their animal appetites overrule their divine reason. Humans also possessed sensory attributes: sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smell. Unlike angels, however, their sensory attributes were limited by physical organs. (They could only know things they could discern through the five senses.) The highest-ranking human being was the King. Animals Animals, like humans higher on the Chain, were animated (capable of independent motion). They possessed physical appetites and sensory attributes, the number depending upon their position within the Chain of Being. They had limited intelligence and awareness of their surroundings. Unlike humans, they were thought to lack spiritual and mental attributes such as immortal souls and the ability to use logic and language. The primate of all animals (the "King of Beasts") was variously thought to be either the lion or the elephant. However, each subgroup of animals also had its own primate, an avatar superior in qualities of its type.

Mammalian Primate: Lion or Elephant o Wild Animals (large cats, etc.) o "Useful" Domesticated Animals (horse, dog, etc.) o "Tame" Domesticated Animals (housecat, etc.) Avian Primate: Eagle o Birds of Prey (hawks, owls, etc.)

o o o

Carrion Birds (vultures, crows) "Worm-eating" Birds (robin, etc.) "Seed-eating" Birds (sparrow, etc.)

Note that avian creatures, linked to the element of air, were considered superior to aquatic creatures linked to the element of water. Air naturally tended to rise and soar above the surface of water, and analogously, aerial creatures were placed higher in the Chain.

Piscine Primate: Whale o Aquatic Mammals (We know a whale or dolphin is not a fish; back then people did not) o Sharks o Fish of various sizes and attributes

The chart would continue to descend through various reptiles, amphibians, and insects. The higher up the chart one went, the more noble, mobile, strong, and intelligent the creature in Renaissance belief. At the very bottom of the animal section, we find sessile creatures like the oysters, clams, and barnacles. Like the plants below them, these creatures lacked mobility, and were thought to lack various sensory organs such as sight and hearing. However, they were still considered superior to plants because they had tactile and gustatory senses (touch and taste). Plants Plants, like other living creatures, possessed the ability to grow in size and reproduce. However, they lacked mental attributes and possessed no sensory organs. Instead, their gifts included the ability to eat soil, air, and "heat." (Photosynthesis was a poorly understood phenomenon in medieval and Renaissance times.) Plants did have greater tolerances for heat and cold, and immunity to the pain that afflicts most animals. At the very bottom of the botanical hierarchy, the fungus and moss, lacking leaf and blossom, were so limited in form that Renaissance thinkers thought them scarcely above the level of minerals. However, each plant was also thought to be gifted with various edible or medicinal virtues unique to its own type. The primate of plants was the oak tree.

Minerals

Trees Shrubs Bushes "Crops" (corn, wheat, etc.) Herbs Ferns Weeds Moss Fungus

Creations of the earth, the lowest of elements, all minerals lacked the plant's basic ability to grow and reproduce. They also lacked mental attributes and sensory organs found in beings higher on the Chain. Their unique gifts, however, were typically their unusual solidity and strength. Many minerals, in fact, were thought to possess magical powers, particularly gems. The Mineral primate is the Diamond.

Lapidarical Primate: Diamond o Diamonds o Rubies o Emeralds o Sapphires, etc. Metallic Primate: Gold o Gold o Silver o Iron (and steel) o Bronze

Copper, etc.

Geological Primate: Marble o Marble o Granite o Sandstone o Limestone, etc. Minute Particles (gravel, sand, soil, etc.) . The Great Chain of Being Peter Suber, Philosophy Department, Earlham College

Here is a brief restatement of the vision of the great chain of being. I've put the various claims comprising the vision into logical order to show that they form a single, large argument. I include references to Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz in order to lead you to texts which clarify and amplify these propositions. I have indented these references out of the way to allow you read the main propositions without distraction. 1. 2. The top of the chain represents perfection in the highest degree. Most believers in the chain call this God. The chain in its entirety represents all degrees of perfection from the highest and fullest to the lowest and least; it is complete. Spinoza, Ethics, all possibilities are actualities: 43.7 (I.16 cor.1), 56.2 (I.33 sch.2), 56.8 (I.35), 62.5 (App. to Part I), 66.9 (II.7 cor) Leibniz, Discourse 3.

3. 4.

Hence the universe would not be complete if the chain did not extend all the way to the bottom or if it had gaps in it. The universe is more perfect (in the sense that it is more complete) if all degrees of perfection are represented in it than if only the highest is represented. This explains why a perfect God would create an imperfect world. It was not a mistake or an imperfection; on the contrary. The most perfect (complete) universe must contain every kind of imperfect thing. Hence imperfect things are not evidence of the imperfection of creation. Descartes, Meditations 111.8, 117.3.

5.

6.

The bottom of the chain represents the least possible perfection, which is nothingness (as opposed to evil). Descartes, Meditations 110.4. Spinoza, Ethics 37-38 (I.11.3d proof), 38.7 (I.11 sch)

7. 8.

Hence, every point on the chain above the very bottom has some degree of perfection. Hence, any idea, insofar as it exists at all, has its share of truth. Descartes, Discourse 30.6; Meditations 94.3, 116.4, 117-18, 120.3. Spinoza, Ethics 85.8 (II.32), 86.3 (II.34); Treatise 250.8

9.

Hence, error is not something positive; truth is. Error is the lack of truth; error is privation. Descartes, Discourse 26.2, 29.6; Meditations 110.7, 115.7, 116.6, 120.4. Spinoza, Ethics 63.6 (II def.4), 86.1 (II.33), 86.5 (II.35), 92.4 (II.43 sch); Treatise 246.n, 250.8, 261.6 Leibniz, Monadology 49.

10. Similarly, evil is not something positive; good is. Evil is the lack of good; evil is privation. Descartes, Meditations 114.5, 116.5. Leibniz, Discourse 4, 30.

11. In general, being or existence is a perfection; to be is more perfect than not to be. What has positive existence is good and was created by God; what is privation lacks being and goodness, and was not created at all. Descartes, Meditations 97.5, 110.4, 121.5. Spinoza, Ethics 38.3 (I.11 sch), 38.6 (I.11 sch), 63.8 (II def.6), 98.4 (II.49 sch) Leibniz, Monadology 40-41, 45.

12. It follows (from principle 11) that the idea of the being with all perfections is the idea of an existing being. This is the ontological argument for the existence of God. Descartes, Discourse 27.8; Meditations 107.3, 121.5. Spinoza, Ethics 31 (I defs 1, 3, 6), 37.2 (I.11), 46.9 (I.20) Leibniz, Discourse 23; Monadology 40, 44.

13. It follows (from principle 9) that for propositions, truth is the default; and (from principle 11) that for entities, existence is the default. If a proposition's truth is possible, we may assume that it is actually true, and if an entity's existence is possible, we may assume that it actually exists, unless there are special reasons to think not. Proofs of truth and existence tend to follow from possibility alone; the burden of proof is on the denial of truth or existence. Spinoza, Ethics 37.5 (I.11.2d proof), 37-38 (I.11.3d proof), 99.7 (II.49 sch). Leibniz, Monadology 45.

14. Dependence is an imperfection. Descartes, Discourse 27.3. Leibniz, Monadology 50.

15. Hence, the things in the middle of the chain are dependent or contingent. (The nothingness at the bottom is dependent in the sense that nothingness depends on the contrast with somethingness.) 16. The being at the top of the chain is utterly independent or self-sufficient or absolute. Descartes, Meditations 104.3, 106.3. Spinoza, Ethics 31 (I defs 1, 3, 6), 44.2 (I.17), 56.5 (I.33 sch.2). Leibniz, Monadology 40.

17. If A causes B, then B depends on A. Hence (by principle 14 above) B is less perfect than A. Therefore a cause must be more perfect than its effect. Descartes, Discourse 26.3; Meditations 96-97. Leibniz, Monadology 50.

18. Dependent beings, therefore, depend on more perfect causes than themselves, which in turn depend on more perfect causes themselves, and so on, until the series comes to an end with the most perfect, uncaused (or self-caused), independent being, which is at the top of the chain. Descartes, Meditations 106.3. Leibniz, Monadology 36, 40, 45.

19. It follows that, if there are any dependent beings (for example, ourselves), then there must be an independent, hence perfect or absolute being (God). This is the cosmological argument for the existence of God. Descartes, Discourse 26.6; Meditations 106.3. Spinoza, Ethics 38.2 (I.11 3d proof). Leibniz, Monadology 36, 40, 44.

20. God, then, is either self-caused or uncaused. Descartes, Meditations 106.2. Spinoza, Ethics 56.7 (I.34 proof). Leibniz, Monadology 36.

References Descartes, Ren. Philosophical Essays. Trans. Laurence Lafleur, Bobbs-Merrill, 1964. Spinoza, Baruch. Ethics, Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, and Selected Letters. Trans. Samuel Shirley and Seymour Feldman, Hackett, 1992. In addition to page numbers from this edition, I cite Spinoza's propositions in the Ethics by number. Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. Discourse on Metaphysics and Other Essays. Trans. Daniel Garber and Roger Ariew, Hackett, 1991. I cite Leibniz only by section numbers, not page numbers.