HIERARCHIES

HIERARCHIES

The concept of ‘hierarchy’ is applicable in any sphere of life.Generally when we say ‘higher’we mean to ignore the lower part. But it isn’t so. In hierarchy the higher constituents are made of the smaller  ones.

Let’s first take biological systems. The structure of living organisms including those of entire populations and ecosystems is organized in a hierarchical fashion that allows a systematic exploration of the question ‘What is life?’. In the biological sciences, the following structural levels are recognized.

Molecule(smallest parts of biological systems)-cell(group of molecules maing a single cell)-tissue(a substructure of an organ, part of a brain)-organ(structural system of an organism)-organ system(functional system of an organism)-organism(an individual)-population(individuals from specific spaces)-community-(Living things)echosystem(Living and non-living things).

Echosystems are the highest but if there weren’t for the molecules echosystems wouldn’t exist.The smaller parts are the constituent parts of the higher ones.

Abraham Maslow is known for establishing the theory of a hierarchy of needs, writing that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied.

                                                

Hierarchies can also reflect relationship between people started from the lowest rank ended with ther highest:priest-bishop-archbishop.

Notions of quantity are also arranged in a hierarchical order: a second-a minute-an hour-a day…..

Hierarchies are also observed in grammar. All the sentences in any language are hierarchies of levels of organization. In the book “Encyclopedia of the English Language”the following sentence is brought as an example:The big dogs enjoyed their unexpected bones.

As we see the words dog, enjoy unexpected and bones contain prefixes and suffixes which identify that there is a level of structure within a word.

The first three words are combined to form phrases. So do the last three words:the big dogs, their unexpected bones. So there is a level of structure between the word and the sentence.

It’s possible to make the serntence bigger by linking it to a similar sequence of words and the sentence will contain clauses: The big dogs enjoyed their unexpected bones and the little puppies liked the scraps.

It’s possible to add sentences to sentences and get a text as a result.

The following order can be arranged:prefix, suffix, morpheme-word-phrase- clause-sentence-text.
I find similarities between blends and hierarchies in a sense they both contain another word or concept as a constituent part,  both are built on smaller parts,  both are containers.But the difference is that  blends take two words and reduce some parts to give born to a new word, but hierarchies set  the lower concept wholly in themselves.