Describe Aristotle’s concept of scala naturae, and indicate how that concept justifies a comparative psychology.
According to Aristotle, all natural things that are consisting of both animate and inanimate, have retain a specific purpose into them. In addition, nature also possesses grand purpose or design. Aristotle believed that in nature, divisions of things are established that targets to the concept of evolution by managing grand hierarchy among all other things.
Thus, a new concept come into emergence known as scala naturae that refers to give idea that nature is packed in a hierarchal level ranging from neutral matter to the unmoved mover that eventually describes actuality and also acts as the cause of something. In scala naturae, the more closely to the unmoved mover, the more gets the perfect. Among animals, humans were considered as to be closest to the unmoved mover as compared to that of other animals behind it at various distances.
Infact, Aristotle did not accept the criteria of evolution, the scala naturae has the potential to create a phylogenetic tree by making it possible to study the lower animals in order to understand humans. For Aristotle, humans were unique among the animals. His point of position was drastically teleological that tells that all objects in nature have a purpose and also nature itself has purpose for doing multiple tasks.