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Determinism in Human Geography optional UPSC |Perspectives in Human Geography | Human Geography UPSC |Geography optional notes

Determinism in Human Geography optional UPSC |Perspectives in Human Geography | Human Geography UPSC |Geography optional notes

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Determinism (नियतिवाद) in human geography:
  • Determinism in human geography, I will say, is the first and oldest perspective in human geography. 
  • Determinism is one of three perspectives in geography that explains the relationship between the environment and humans. The other two are Neo-determinism and Possibilism.
As per determinism, 
  • The natural environment is supreme and it controls every sphere of human activities.
  • Activities of humans, human settlements types and patterns, cultural development, food habits, cultural habits, etc are determined by Nature.
  • Humans act as passive agents and the environment acts as the active agent.

In India, we say that our destiny is written( determined) by God, and we cannot change it. Everything in life is already scripted by God.

The following are the central ideas of determinism:
  • The activities of humans are the result or product of the physical environment. Examples are:
    • The potato crop is grown in the cold season and the paddy crop grows in the rainy season in north India the paddy crop is grown all year in some parts of West Bengal. Agriculture practices are determined by the physical environment.
    • In Arab Countries, thawb dresses are used to protect themselves from extreme heat and dust. 
    • In India, Rajasthani people wear a turban to protect themselves from extreme sunlight.
  • Environment controls human action. Human action is not supreme, the environment decides what people should do. Examples are:
  • After floods, droughts, tsunamis, etc., people move to a safer places.
  • Climate change is also environmental control over human activities, and due to climate change, changes are now visible in the way people develop.
  • The difference in human behaviors can be explained by the difference in natural environments. Examples are:
    • Peoples eat rice in hilly areas as they need more energy to climb hills and rice is easily available in the hilly region. 
    • Plain area peoples eat wheat as they need low energy & wheat can be easily grown in the plains region. 
    • Tribal people worship plants, animals, rivers, etc, as their livelihood is dependent on the forest. 
Geographical thought in Support of Determinism:
The following geographer supported the determinism philosophy:
  • Darwin gave the theory of "survival of the fittest" in which nature chooses the fittest organisms.
  • Aristotle: According to the ideas of Aristotle
    • People from cold climate zone: Brave and powerful but weak-minded.
    • People from hot climate zone are physically weak and timid but sharp in intelligence.
  • The Roman geographer Strabo pointed out that slopes, relief, climate, etc., acted on the part of nature to shape human actions.
  • Al-Masoodi: Gay and humorous people are found in Syria's water-rich areas. People are irritable in dry areas
  • Carl Ritter: narrow eyelids of Turkish people were the effect of the desert on humans. 
  • Humboldt: The mode of life of mountainous people is different from plain areas. 
Criticism of Determinism in geography:
  • Spate Criticized determinism though he pointed out that environments themselves are meaningless without a man. The human also shapes the environment.
  • In deterministic, man is regarded as a passive element, this is not true. A man by his efforts can create his own environment. For example, nowadays paddy crops are also growing in drought areas by providing irrigation facilities.
  • Ratzel said that two ethnic groups in the same location may have different living standards. 
  • The same environment has a different meaning for different people based on family background, culture, knowledge, etc. 
  • People living in mountain passes are robbers, it is an overgeneralization statement of determinism. It is not true.

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Try to solve the following questions

  •  "Ellen Churchill Semple is an ardent supporter of Determinism." Explain. (UPSC 2013, 15 marks)
  • Write the supporting views of Determinism in geography.


Answer the following multiple-choice questions on Environmental Determinism:

1. Which of the following is considered as father or pioneer of determinism in geography?
a) Ellen Churchill Semple
b) Humboldt
c) Carl Ritter
d) Friedrich Ratzel


Answer. d) Friedrich Ratzel was a German geographer and considered the father of determinism in geography.


2. Which one of the following geographers is not a supporter of Environmental determinism?
a) Ellen Semple
b) Huntington
c) Griffith Taylor
d) Ibn Khaldun


Answer. c) Griffith Taylor was a supporter of neo-determinism.


3. Who said, " Human is the product of the Environment"?
a) Ellen Semple
b) Huntington
c) Griffith Taylor
d) Ibn Khaldun


Answer. a) Ellen Semple



4. Which of the following does not deal with studying the relationship between humans and nature?
a) Environment Determinism
b) Neo Determinism
c) Possibilism
d) Climatology


Answer. d) Climatology


5. Who said  "20-degree temperature is an ideal climate condition for high mental and physical productivity " in support of environmental determinism?
a) Ellen Semple
b) Huntington
c) Griffith Taylor
d) Ibn Khaldun

Answer. b) Huntington



6. Which of the following geographer believed that Earth was part of God's plan and central idea of geography should be studied to understand the relationship between humans and nature?
a) a) Ellen Churchill Semple
b) Humboldt
c) Carl Ritter
d) Friedrich Ratzel

Answer. c) Carl Ritter


7. Which one of the following geographers was not a supporter of Environmental determinism?
a) Ellen Semple
b) Huntington
c) Vidal de la Blanche
d) Ibn Khaldun

Answer. c) Vidal de la Blanche



8. Which one of the following geographers described the influence of climate on human occupancy and civilization?
a) Ellen Semple
b) Huntington
c) Vidal de la Blanche
d) Ibn Khaldun

Answer. b) Huntington


9. Which one of the following geographers followed Darwin's theory of natural selection to support environmental determinism?
a) Ellen Churchill Semple
b) Humboldt
c) Carl Ritter
d) Friedrich Ratzel


Answer. d) Friedrich Ratzel



10. Which of the following scholar believed that the dark skin of Africans is the result of prevalent black basalt rocks in the region?
a) Ellen Semple
b) Huntington
c) Al-Jahiz 
d) Ibn Khaldun


Answer. c) Al-Jahiz 

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