Great chain of being

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The great chain of being (from Latin scala naturae 'ladder of being') is a hierarchical structure of all matter and life, thought by the medieval Islamic world and medieval Christianity to have been decreed by God. The chain begins with God and descends through angels, humans, animals and plants to minerals. The great chain of being is a concept derived from Plato, Aristotle (in his Historia Animalium), Plotinus and Proclus. Further developed during the Middle Ages, it reached full expression in early modern Neoplatonism.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Didacus Valades (Diego Valades), Public domain