Environmental Determinism
vs. Possibilism
The Study of
Human Geography
Chapter 3, Section 1
• Environmental Determinism
– Belief that the physical environment,
environment, esp.
esp. climate,
climate,
exclusively shapes humans, their actions, and their
thoughts
• The continuous warm weather of the lower latitudes was
believed to make it easier for humans to survive.
survive.
– Prompting those societies to become characterized by laziness and
a relaxed attitude
attitude..
• The variability of temps
temps.. and precip.
precip. in the higher latitudes
was believed to make it more challenging for survival
survival..
– Prompting those societies to develop more driven and determined
work ethics
– Stresses human adaption to the environment
– Ultimately dismissed by geographers
• B/c it was used to help promote racism in world cultures
Environmental Determinism
vs. Possibilism
Culture and Its Components
• Possibilism
• Society vs
vs.. Culture
– Belief that humans can alter the environment in
any way to best serve their needs through the use
of technology
– Stresses human modification of their environment
– Ultimately dismissed as well as being too extreme
• Human
Human--Environmental Interaction
– Theme of geographer that combines the theories
• Environment does place certain limitations on humans.
humans.
– However, restrictions are not absolute, enduring restrictions.
restrictions.
• Technology can modify the environment
environment..
– However, there are limits on the extent to which technology
can alter the environment
environment..
– Society
• Group of people
– Culture
• Group of people’s way of life
• Material vs
vs.. Non
Non--Material Culture
– Material Culture
• Physical objects created by a society
– NonNon-Material Culture
• Abstract creations of a society, such as language
• Culture Trait
– Smallest, distinct item of a culture
– Can range from an object to a technique to a belief
• Culture Region
– Portions of the earth’s surface occupied by societies sharing
recognizable, distinct cultural traits and characteristics
Structure of Culture
• Technological Subsystem
– Consists of material objects, how those material objects
are used, and the techniques by which those objects are
made
– Artifacts
• Material objects studied in the technological subsystem
• Ideological
Id l i l Subsystem
S b t
– Consists of the ideas, beliefs, and knowledge and how
these things are communicated
• Thru myths, legends, literature, philosophy, folk lore, etc.
etc.
– Mentifacts
• Abstract belief system studied in the ideological subsystem
• Sociological Subsystem
– Consists of the accepted patterns of how different
members of society relate to one another
– Sociofact
• Patters of behavior studied in the sociological subsystem
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Structure of Culture
• Each of the three
subsystems are linked.
• Ex. #1: Dwellings
– As artifacts:
• They’re objects that were made
by and used by a society.
– As mentifacts
mentifacts::
• There are accepted convictions
about design and materials
used.
– As sociofacts
sociofacts::
• There is a specific kinship group
the dwelling is designed to
house.
Structure of Culture
• Ex. #2: Clothing
– As artifacts:
• They’re objects that are made
by and used by a society.
– As mentifacts
mentifacts::
• There are accepted convictions
about design and materials
used.
– As sociofacts
sociofacts::
• They help identify an individual’s
role in the community or society.
Culture and Change
• Culture tends to by dynamic
dynamic..
– Subject to change
• Societies tend to have an innate resistance
•
to change
change..
Reasons for Change
– Innovation
– Diffusion
– Acculturation
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Innovation
• New idea or object
• Cultural Hearth
– Center of the innovation
– From where the cultural trait
or characteristic diffused to
surrounding regions
Diffusion
• Process by which an idea or
•
innovation is transmitted
from one culture to another
E
Expansion
i Diffusion
Diff i
– Occurs when info. about an
innovation spreads
throughout a society
Diffusion
• Relocation Diffusion
– Occurs when people
migrate to a new area and
take their culture w/ them
• E.g., immigrants
• Occurs much more
quickly today than in the
past
– B/c of improved
communication and
transportation systems
Diffusion Barrier
Diffusion Barriers
• Something that hinders the
• Interrupting Barrier
flow of info. and/or migration
of people to retard or prevent
the acceptance of an
i
innovation
ti
• Distance Decay
– Idea that the further two areas
are from each other, the less
likely interaction occurs
– Explains why an innovation is
more likely to diffuse to an
area nearby rather than far
away
– Element in the physical
environment that delays or
deflects the path of
diffusion
• E.g., oceans, mts
mts.,
., etc.
• Political Barrier
• Cultural Barrier
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Ethnocentrism
Acculturation
• Belief that one’s own ethnic group or cultural
• Cultural modification when one
•
cultural group or individual
adopts the new culture of a
dominant host society
May occur either as a result of
migration or conquest
Cultural Relativism
• Belief that cultures should be
•
•
judged by their own standards
Used to study other cultures to
understand
d t d cultural
lt l practices
ti
from the pt. of view of the
members of the society being
studied
Examples:
group is superior to all other cultures
• Source of disagreements and/or conflicts btw.
btw.
people and other countries
Sacred Cow
• From the Hindu (Indian
Indian)) culture
• Prohibits the killing cattle
– Even though people are starving
• Importance of Cattle
– Source of milk
– Beast of burden
– Source of dung
• Conclusion: The cow is worth more
alive than dead.
– Sacred Cow
– Prohibition of Pork
Uses of Cow Dung
• Fertilizer
• Fuel
– Most of India has been
deforested..
deforested
– Fossil fuels are scarce and
expensive to import.
• Building material in the
construction of dwellings
– Mixed w/ grass to plaster
the walls of dwellings
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Prohibition of Pork
• From the culture of the Jews
• Originated from their beginnings
in a desert environment
– Hogs are not suited to a desert
environment.
• Theyy lack sweat gglands.
glands.
– Which is why they wallow in the mud
– Pork is not easily preserved w/o
refrigeration.
• Tends to spoil quickly
• Causes illness if eaten
• Conclusion: Because of the
difficulty in raising hogs and
preserving pork, the Jews felt it
was too dangerous to eat pork.
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