Environmental Determinism: Idea & Definition (2024)

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The natural environment is all around us, and we as a society interact with the natural environment on a day-to-day basis, but does this interaction with the environment influence and limit us? Are societies controlled by the physical features of the environment? Environmental determinism is all about the theory of how human interaction with the natural environment influences civilizations. Keep reading this explanation to understand the theory of environmental determinism, its criticisms, as well as a theory that opposes environmental determinism.

Environmental Determinism Definition

Environmental determinism is a philosophy within human geography based on how society interacts with the physical environment, but what actually is the definition of environmental determinism?

Environmental determinism is a geographical and philosophical theory which claims that physical attributes of the environment, such as landscapes and climate, can significantly influence humans and therefore, the ability to impact society and development.

Essentially, this means that the environment can control (or determine) how a population behaves. The theory states the physical makeup of an environment can psychologically influence individuals within a population, and this can spread within a population to ultimately define the society’s behavior and culture as a whole.

Let’s examine environmental determinism more closely, looking at its history.

History of Environmental Determinism

In terms of the history of geography, the philosophy of environmental determinism dates back to the Ancient Greeks, although the term environmental determinism wasn’t officially formalized until the 1860s, by a geographer named Friedrich Ratzel.

The theory became most prevalent in modern geography during the early 19th century, due to geographers such as Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Ritter who heavily advocated the theory. Herbert Spencer used Darwinism (the theory of evolution, by natural selection) to explain social progress through a theory of social evolution in order to justify environmental determinism. However, modern scholars largely disregard this theory now. In the late 20th/early 21st century, Ellen Churchill Semple became another leading player in environmental determinism.

Fig 1. Hebert Spencer.

However, the theory's popularity rapidly declined as critics such as Carl Sauer began suggesting the theory of environmental determinism was incorrect. (The criticisms of environmental determinism will be made clear later in the explanation). Eventually, the theory saw a more recent revival around the late 20th/early 21st century, mainly because of the geographer Jared Diamond.

Jared Diamond is a geographer who brought contemporary environmental determinism to popularity with his book ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’ in 1997. His book discusses early civilizations and how they came to be based on natural elements such as soil quality, climate, and geographical barriers.

Features of Environmental Determinism in Human Geography

The main features of environmental determinism are climatic, ecological and geographical factors. These different factors are said to influence human factors in society. They are:

• Economic Development - this is the economic progress within a community.
• Cultural Development - this is when a society has an array of cultural activities. The more diverse the activities, the more cultural development within the society.
• Societal Development - this is measured by the quality of life in a society. Therefore, if the quality of life within a community is high, societal development is also considered high in that community.

Let’s take a look at some examples to see how these factors are said to be influenced.

Example of Environmental Determinism

Environmental determinists believe that the environment’s physical features can influence an entire culture.

Climatic determinism is also similar to the concept of the equatorial paradox. Which is the idea that countries that are located close to the equator are poor and less developed, whereas countries further from the equator are richer and more developed. This is based on the suggestion that civilizations that are found close to the equator have a physical environment that is not suitable for economic development to occur. Therefore, this example focuses on the human aspect of economic development.

Fig 2. Farm Laborers in Argentina Where The Climate Can Get Very Hot.

Environmental determinism saw a significant decline in the early 20^th century. The decline is largely attributed to the increasing criticisms of the theory. The main criticisms were that the philosophy encouraged racism, colonialism, Eurocentrism, and imperialism. Overall, the claim is that environmental determinism devalued non-western societies in preference for Western societies, particularly former empires.

Racism

Environmental determinism has received many criticisms for being racist, and this is mainly what led it to lose popularity in the early 20^th century. This can be seen in the examples of environmental determinism, in particular the idea that civilizations in hotter countries are lazy. It was mostly criticized for promoting white supremacy, as it was suggested that geographers were rationalizing and condoning colonialism and Western thought.

One particular critic, Carl Sauer, proposed that environmental determinism made rash generalizations about societies. He claimed that observation and research were not considered by environmental determinists. Sauer instead advocated the concept of possibilism. He studied the impact society had on the environment, instead of focusing on how the environment controlled society's behaviors and actions.

Consequently, the concept of environmental determinism became a widely rejected philosophy within geography.

Difference Between Determinism and Possibilism

The criticisms of environmental determinism brought about the notion of possibilism. Around the 1950s, the idea of environmental possibilism was introduced as a reaction to environmental determinism. This concept rejects the notion that humans are ruled by their natural surroundings and instead claims that human society develops alongside the environment, let's take a look at the definition.

Environmental possibilism is the geographical theory that society is not completely influenced by the environment and instead can meet societal needs and development regardless of the location and environment through adaptation.

Possibilism proposes that although the environment can set some limitations in society, it does not completely control culture, and civilizations can overcome the environment. The main ideas of possibilism are that society can utilize the possibilities nature provides, rather than nature limiting society (which is proposed by environmental determinism).

An example of possibilism is the ability of society to build infrastructure in landscapes and climates that would otherwise be considered inhabitable. For example, Palm Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates. These islands are completely artificial and were built as a new land mass for humans to use. This shows society not being limited by the environment and instead modifying the lands to suit society.

Fig 3. Palm Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates is an Example of Possibilism.

Supporters of possibilism suggest that the theory allows for society to have more control and freedom over their behaviors and actions, whereas the theory of environmental determinism limits human behaviors and actions to the environment that they are in.

Additionally, human geographers typically favor environmental possibilism over environmental determinism because it suggests the idea that humans rely more on the environment for survival and development. However, even in geography today, there are still debates regarding both of these theories.

Take a look at the explanation of Possibilism to understand more about this concept.

The table below shows the main differences between environmental determinism and environmental possibilism.

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