| 释义 |
‖ scala naturae, n.|ˈskeɪlə næˈtjʊəriː, ˈskɑːlə næˈtjʊəraɪ|
[mod.L., lit. ‘ladder of nature’.]
= scale of nature s.v. scale n.3 5 a; the chain of being (chain n. 4 a).
[1859Darwin Origin of Species v. 149 Beings low in the scale of nature are more variable than those which are higher.] 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 806/1 Lamarck represents most completely..the highwater mark of the popular but fallacious conception of a scala naturae. 1972Science 2 June 986/3 The concept of evolution, at that period, still evoked in most naturalists the image of the scala naturae, the ladder of perfection. 1983E. C. Minkoff Evolutionary Biol. iii. 50/2 Buffon's criticisms of Linnaeus were several. He objected especially to any arbitrary subdivision of nature, for he believed that the scala naturae was a continuum. |