Until approximately the mid-18th century, the Great Chain of Being was the primary concept through which all living matter was understood. Its basic premise was that organisms closest to divine perfection (as noted by their material and ideal forms) were to be understood as being most God-like and thus ranked highest on the hierarchy of being-ness—so to speak. With this concept in mind, how was the practice of ethnocide and genocide rationalized during that time period? Who was determining the rankings of human populations? What were these rankings based on?
What significance does this have to the 19th century (1800s) perception of races being indicative of human subspecies?
Is cultural complexity directly correlated to biological evolution? or In other words, are more advanced societies more biologically evolved? Explain your answer.