Question

The ‘Great chain of being’ was proposed by
A. Anaximander
B. Plato
C. Aristotle
D. Socrates

Answer 1

Hint:-The great chain of being (also known as chain of being or scala naturæ) is a classical conception which arranges the organism from their lowest being to the highest being in a hierarchical order to form one interconnected system. It is supposed to give an organized order to biological diversity and hence is called the ‘ladder of life or ladder of being’.

Complete step-by-step solution:-The concept of great chain of being was derived from Plato, Aristotle (in his Historia Animalium), Plotinus and Proclus, developed during the middle age and reached its full stage during the early modern Neoplatonism.
The basic idea was that of Aristotle as he proposed the hierarchical arrangement which forms the basis of the chain of being.
This way of organisation formed the basis of classification and taxonomy. The basic concept was derived from the sense of deriving the relationships among living things.
According to Aristotle, the universe was ultimately perfect and the great chain was also perfect, which neither consisted of empty links nor of any link represented by more than one species. The hierarchy was seen in the souls of the living organisms and the classification was done based on the soul’s specific powers.
It was basically the imposition of the medieval European political relations upon the natural world, where the man was considered as the most perfect animal and the worms were considered as the lowest being.
So, the correct option is C

Note:- The three basic intellectual components of the great chain of being were proposed namely, the principles of plenitude, continuity, and gradation.The principle of plenitude believes in the earth as a vessel for the products of God’s creation, the principle of continuity explains that there were no gaps separating different kinds of living beings and the principle of gradation explains that the geometry of the natural order starting from the lowest and ending at the highest.