- Mar 2025
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Local file Local file
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These tenets, as interpreted by those who put themselves onhigh, would become the divine and spiritual foundation for thebelief in a human pyramid willed by God, a Great Chain of Being,that the founders would further sculpt in the centuries to follow,as circumstances required. And so we have what could be calledthe first pillar of caste, Divine Will and the Laws of Nature, thefirst of the organizing principles inherent in any caste system.Wilk_9780593230251_all_3p_r1.indd 104 20/6/5 8:28 AM
Given Wilkerson's introductory chapters on knowing and understanding history, I'm heavily disappointed this is the singular reference in the book to "The Great Chain of Being". It's not even indexed in the end.
The underlying idea of the scala naturae across a huge swath of western history is really the thing that gives rise to the problems of American history which she is attempting to bring to life here. Missing this part of the bigger picture is a serious flaw.
Does she skirt it rhetorically so as not to give fuel to the idea that "this is how things have always been?" arguments?
see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_chain_of_being
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Annotators
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- Oct 2023
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udenver.zoom.us udenver.zoom.us
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Some related ideas that are suggesting some sort of thesis for improving the idea of ungrading: - We measure the things we care about. - In Education, we care about learning and understanding, but measuring these outside of testing and evaluation is difficult at best (therefor ungrading). - No one cares about your GPA six months after you graduate. - Somehow we've tied up evaluations and grades into the toxic capitalism and competition within US culture. Some of this is tied into educational movements related to Frederick Winslow Taylor and Harvards Eliot. - Hierarchies instituted by the Great Chain of Being have confounded our educational process.
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- Oct 2020
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www.politico.com www.politico.com
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Scholars like Annette Gordon-Reed and Woody Holton have given us a deeper understanding of the ways in which leaders like Thomas Jefferson committed to new ideas of freedom even as they continued to be deeply committed to slavery.
I've not seen any research that relates the Renaissance ideas of the Great Chain of Being moving into this new era of supposed freedom. In some sense I'm seeing the richest elite whites trying to maintain their own place in a larger hierarchy rather than stronger beliefs in equality and hard work.
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- Aug 2019
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bookbook.pubpub.org bookbook.pubpub.org
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Divergent responses to annotation demonstrate what Foucault means by power running through the whole social body.
How would this have worked in pre-literate societies? Examples?
"the whole social body" also reminds me of the idea of the "Great Chain of Being" to consider how differences in annotation may change and evolve in societies over long periods of time. I can't help but consider Richard Dawkins' original conceptualization of the "meme" and how they move through societies with or without literacy skills.
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