The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea

From later antiquity down to the close of the eighteenth century, most philosophers, men of science, and indeed most educated men, accepted without question a traditional view of the plan and structure of the world.

In this volume, which embodies the William James lectures for 1933, Arthur O. Lovejoy highlights three key principles that shaped this conception:

• Plenitude
• Continuity
• Graduation

He delves into their origins in the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and the Neoplatonists, and meticulously traces their impact across various domains, including:

• Religious thought
• Metaphysics
• Ethics and aesthetics
• Astronomical and biological theories

The book also provides copious illustrations of how this overarching conception, along with the ideas it comprises, influenced the imagination and emotions as reflected in literature.