The organic theory of society took three politically distinct forms
Evidence
Three variations of the organic theory of society are important to the transition from organicism to mechanism. The first was based on medieval society as a hierarchy. The body politic was metaphorically modeled on the organic unity of the human body, and, as a hierarchy of status groups, represented a conservative view of the social order consistent with the experience of feudal lords and the medieval church. The second variation tended toward a leveling of the hierarchies and was based on the actual experience of the village community. The third, a revolutionary form of the organic theory, advocated the complete overthrow of social hierarchies. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 338
Categorization
- DEFINE: Establishes the hierarchical/communal/revolutionary tripartite distinction that frames the chapter — key course vocabulary for the body-politic metaphor.
- XREF: connects to: Village peasant culture generated an egalitarian communal variant of organic social theory. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 354; Fascism’s organic-hierarchy politics drove ecology toward mathematical reductionism. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 353; Mechanism suppressed radical egalitarian organicism while keeping its hierarchical side — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 534 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Village peasant culture generated an egalitarian communal variant of organic social theory.
#exemplifies(0.85) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 354 - Mechanism suppressed radical egalitarian organicism while keeping its hierarchical side
#expands(0.80) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 534 - Fascism’s organic-hierarchy politics drove ecology toward mathematical reductionism.
#expands(0.78) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 353