The great chain of being
by Arthur O. Lovejoy · first published 1936
5mentions
2recommended by
5HN commenters
2011–2026first – last mentioned
40% recommend60% neutral
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Philosophy PhD here. I'd recommend a couple of classics, both accessible to non-specialists: The Great Chain of Being is a nice overview of some of the main themes of ancient metaphysics and their later influence.[1] It ranges far beyond the ancient world, but it does as good a job as anything can of showing how ancient…
on “Why read Aristotle today?” ↗If anyone wants to read a history of the widespread influence of ideas of Neoplatonism, I would suggest reading The Great Chain of Being by Arthur Lovejoy.
on “Plotinus – Founder of Neoplatonism” ↗Pierre Grimes and the Noetic Society - Arthur O. Lovejoy's "The Great Chain of Being" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNMWl9cky84
on “Has there been progress in philosophy?” ↗He did both! Along with The Great Chain of Being by Lovejoy. We also studied the Divine Comedy (all three ugh), the librettos for the Magic Flute and the Barber of Seville, Frankenstein, and lots more. I took multiple courses with him, so this is…
on “'The Cheese and the Worms' by Carlo Ginzburg Review” ↗…is a growing field in the study of religion and philosophy that indicates that the growth of many systems has a fractal structure. In fact, Mandelbrot commented on this himself in response to Lovejoy's Great Chain of Being, although he never applied it to the correlative systems of the East, nor the syncretist projects of the Renaissance. These are frequently associated with genius for good reason. I suspect Lisp is popular…
on “The myth of the Lisp genius” ↗