Environmental Determinism - a Concept Note

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Environmental Determinism Environmental determinism was described by Semple (1911, p.620) as ‘the influence of climate upon race temperament’. Although quite a simple thought, it formed the basis of a notion that sparked major debate in the 19th but especially the 20th century, as to whether or not human society and its activities are indeed controlled by the physical environment in which they take place (Goodwin, 2005). The seeds for this notion of environment determinism were sown back in the 19th century. Through developing the ideas of evolutionary biology, it can be seen as geography’s way of entering the realms of modern science (Peet, 1985). Scientific thinkers of the time, Larmarck and Darwin have been credited for inspiring this notion of the environment impacting the biology and subsequent behavior of beings. For example in Lamarck's (1914 ed.) theory, he outlines how an organism’s shape and organization is caused by environmentally induced habits – ‘the giraffe actively stretched its neck reaching for the upper leaves of trees in semiarid regions’ (Peet, 1985, p.312). This is all very well and good, yet some would argue in a geographical sense that these ideas need to be developed away from how the environment affects the biology of individual organisms and more towards the notion of human society and whether the environment has any role in controlling its outcome. It was Fredrich Ratzel, who indeed looked at environment determinism in this way. Although still “convinced of the importance of the idea of evolution” (Wanklyn, 1961, p.19) Ratzel explored the ideas of how societies are dependent on the land and what it provides. Ratzel saw development of these societies as dependent on what the land provides, if the land for example contains valuable resources then, according to Ratzel, that society will develop. To some extent there are modern
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