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Human-Environment Relationship

- The deterministic approach views humans as passive agents whose behavior and development are entirely determined by environmental factors like climate, landforms, etc. - The teleological approach sees the environment as having been created for human use and exploitation based on Judeo-Christian traditions. This led to overexploitation of natural resources. - The possibilistic approach rejects environmental determinism and argues that humans are not simply products of their environment. Rather, the environment presents options and possibilities, and human knowledge and technology allow for greater choices that are not entirely constrained by the natural environment. Culture, not environment, is seen as the dynamic force shaping human-environment relationships.

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75% found this document useful (4 votes)
3K views18 pages

Human-Environment Relationship

- The deterministic approach views humans as passive agents whose behavior and development are entirely determined by environmental factors like climate, landforms, etc. - The teleological approach sees the environment as having been created for human use and exploitation based on Judeo-Christian traditions. This led to overexploitation of natural resources. - The possibilistic approach rejects environmental determinism and argues that humans are not simply products of their environment. Rather, the environment presents options and possibilities, and human knowledge and technology allow for greater choices that are not entirely constrained by the natural environment. Culture, not environment, is seen as the dynamic force shaping human-environment relationships.

Uploaded by

Smriti Sharma
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Human-

Environment
Relationship
-Smriti Sharma
21513035
Deterministic Approach

Teleological Approach
DIFFERENT
APPROACHES
TABLE OF
CONTENT
Possibilistic Approach

Neo – Deterministic
Approach

Ecological Approach

Systematic Approach

Period of Hunting and


Gathering

HISTORICAL Period of Animal

PROGRESSION Domestication and


Pastoralism

Period of Agriculture

Period of Science, Technology


and Industrialization
Man-environment relationships refer to the interactions and feedbacks between the human and the
natural components and, consequently, to the linkages between the social and the geophysical
systems. The field of man-environment relationship operates with a series of concept and notions.
They refer to the causes of environmental change, feedbacks and consequences for the
communities, answers of the decision makers etc. The environment can significantly affect human
activities, and vice versa, humans can shape and change the Earth’s surface and its atmosphere.
Approaches to the study of man-environment relationship: The study of relationships between man
and environment has always been a focal theme of environmental science and facets of man-
environment relationship changed through time with the development of human society and the
dimension of environment As the man become social, economic and technological, he broadened
his environment by creating his own environment through his design and skill to have provision for
better food, shelter, access and comfort The man environment relationships, thus, can be perceived
and evaluated in a variety of ways and approaches
Different Approaches To Study

Environmentalism/Deterministic
Teleological Approach Possibilistic Approach
Approach

Neo-Deterministic Approach Ecological Approach System Approach


Deterministic Approach
[Environmentalism]
The relationship between humans and the climate in geographical history has been explored in various ways. Geographers
take the first approach in deterministic ways to generalize the human occupations of the Planet. . All human activities are
believed to be triggered by causes or forces beforehand. The hypothesis that the natural world determines human behavior is
environmental determinism. The physical world has an impact on human behavior. In essence, changes in the natural world
can clarify human behavior. The deterministic school of thinking notes that the majority of elements of history, culture, and
living practices have environmental circumstances predetermined “’Environmentalism is the point of view that the
environment controls the course of human action” ( Lewthwaite, 1966 ) In other word, it is the belief that variation is human
behavior around the world thought is that the history, culture, lifestyle and stage of development of a social group, society or
nation are largely governed by the physical factors ( relief, climate, water bodies, soils flora and tauna ) of environment. The
determinists consider man as a product of environment or as a passive agent whose attitudes, decisions, and lifestyle are
determined by environmental factors.
Humboldt, a pioneer of determinism, in his book ‘Cosmos’, described the effect of the configuration of the Mediterranean
Sea on the evolution early civilization. He stated that “the active life of the Greeks, especially of the Ionians, and their early
predilection for maritime expeditions found a rich field for its development in the remarkable configuration of the
Mediterranean, and in its relative position to the oceans situated to the south and west”
Ellen Churchill Semple a staunch supporter of determinism, in her classic work ‘Influences of Geographical Environment’
(1911) she noted; “Man is the product of the Earth’s surface.”
The Roman and Greek scientists were the first to demonstrate the impact on human beings and the culture of climate.
Aristotle claims that people in cold countries are courageous but lack a political structure that prevents them from ruling
their neighbors. People in Asia are also enslaved. Inverse, in Greeks of the middle class who hold the most equidistant
position, the world's rulers are found. Slope, relief, and climate affect people's lives, says Strabo, the Roman geographer.
Most geographers of Arab countries subscribed to determinism in room. The water-rich is positive, while the water-less are
tested. People living in open environments have more strength and intellect, both physical and mental. The people from the
north are lean and often aggressive, living in less hot and cooling areas. In their property are waters and coldness that hinder
faith. With our 64th parallel north and south of the equator, our population density varies. With a lower population density
of the equator, the temperate areas are less heavily populated. Colorful cold weather is deteriorating in population density.
Geography is a compilation of facts regarding the Earth's natural characteristics. In 1815, for the first time, Alfred Ritter was
a geographer. Dr. Ritter wanted to see if men had different physical constitutions in different environments. Flatlanders live in
different forms in mountainous countries. He also included a segment on human activities and the relationship with nature.
Friedrich Ratzel was championing "Modern" determinism. His new theory demanded the use of social Darwinism and
organic geography in place of conventional geographical determinism. Similar places result in similar ways of life. As insular
countries, he used the UK and Japanese examples to argue that both have natural protection against invaders. The results
were really good. As human geography, Semple has called it "the study of the developing relationship between humans and
a changing climate." She also believes that humans are the surface of the world, that the bones, tissues, minds, and souls of
nature are now gone. She also noticed a surprising "environmentalization" or "determinism," which contributed to man's
prestige. Ernest L. Henderson, the American geographer, advocated natural world determinism. It is focused on the biases
of race and climate. Huntington's central hypothesis is that great human achievements occur with unique weather. Following
geographers, social change is deterministic.
Teleological Approach
This school emanated from the teaching of Judio-Christian religious tradition which preached that man is superior to all creatures and
everything is created for his use and enjoyment. This ideology of man environment relationship fostered man to exploit natural
resources and led to the excessive and rapid rate of exploitation of natural resources in North America, Europe and their colonies in
various parts of the world. This religious tradition has been largely responsible for present-day ecological crises.
After the World War II, the philosophy of environmentalism was attacked. Many geographers in the United States, Britain, Canada, etc.
criticized the one-sided approach adopted by the environmentalists in their interpretation of historical reality to their exaggeration of
nature's active role and man as a passive agent. Works of man, reveal many facts that environmental forces alone can give no
satisfactory explanation. They regarded environmental determinism as overly simplistic because it neglects the cultural factors that affect
human behavior. In fact, two societies, inhabiting areas having similar climates and landforms, maybe dissimilar.
If climate dictated the pattern of life, how could two contrasting societies like the saffron, orchards and rice grower Kashmiris and the
pastoral transhumants - Bakarwals exist in the same environment of Kashmir ?
Reviewing man-environment relationships, Kirchoff concluded that "man is not an automation without a will of his own." Spate
criticized the fanatic approach of environmental determinists. He stressed that "environment taken by itself is a meaningless phrase;
without man environment does not exist."
With the growth of knowledge, scientific and technical developments if was realized that man can use nature for his comforts. Similar
environments do not always evoke similar response. Man's preference for certain items and his skill is also important. The distribution of
population, expansion of agriculture, location of towns and industries, mental ability of certain races, etc. have some relation with
environment but are not controlled totally by physical factors. Tatham has rightly observed that "although environment undoubtedly
influences man, man in turn changes his environment, and the interaction is so intricate that it is difficult to know when one influence
ceases and the other begins."
Possibilistic Approach
Possibilism is a philosophy which states that people are not just pawns of the natural environment. According to this
philosophy, the natural environment presents options, the number of which increase as the knowledge and technology of a
culture group develop. The emphasis was thus shifted from the natural environment to culture as the dynamic force. Hagget
stated that "possibilism in contrast to environmentalism, stresses the freedom of man to choose alternative patterns of
behavior despite geographic location. Possiblism in Geography developed as a reaction to Determinism. It presented man as
an active rather than passive agent. It is associated with the French School of Geography.
The term Possiblism was given by Lucian Febvre.  He was basically a historian. In his book 'Geographical Introduction to
History’, he explained the man environment relationship in a new form. He stated that, "Man is a geographical agent and not
the least. He everywhere contributes his share towards investing the physiognomy of the earth with those changing
expressions which is the special charge of geography to study." He further elaborates There are no necessities, but
everywhere possibilities, and man as a master of these possibilities is the judge of their use. He opined that geographical
elements of the environment are fixed only in the narrow and special sense of the word. The moment we give them human
associations they are as changeful as humanity itself. That is why modem geography has so definitely steered away from
determinism and towards a study of types of actually working regional combinations of human and environmental condition.“
Febvre said that, “ The true and only geographical problem is that of utilization of Possibilities. There are no necessities but
everywhere possibilities. The philosophy of Possiblism is the belief that people are not just the products of their environment
or just pawns of natural environment
But, Vidal de la Blache is considered as the founder of the concept of possibilism. In his book ‘Principles of Human
Geography’, he has not only explained the man-environment relationship, but has described the role of man in modification
of his environment. According to him, "nature is never more than an adviser." Blache in his studies minimized the influence of
environment on the activities of man. Central to his work were the life styles. (genres de vie) that develop in the different
geographical environments. In his opinion, the life styles are the products and reflections of a civilization, represented the
integrated result of physical, historical and social influences surrounding man's relation to milieu in a particular place. He
tried to explain the differences between groups in the same or similar environments, and stressed that these differences are
not due to the dictates of physical environment but owing to variations in attitudes, values and habits. Variations in attitudes
and habits create numerous possibilities for the human communities which became the basic philosophy of the school of
possibilism. Blache was of the opinion that man is, not a passive being but an active force and changing his environment. In
fact, he considered man as a geographical factor

According to the possibilists, nature is never more than an adviser. Nature offers many opportunities to man and man as a
master of his own will utilizes those possibilities. Through his technical skill man can grow banana and rubber in Antarctica,
but he is to take into consideration the input cost. As such, man can never entirely rid himself of the hold his environment has
on him. In spite of the fact that man has numerous possibilities in a given physical setting, he cannot go against the directions
laid by the physical environment. The possibilistic approach has been criticised by many contemporary thinkers. Like
determinism, possibilism is also an extreme concept and soon people realized that the impact of nature cannot be ignored.
There are several region of the world that are not yet inhabited by man either due to extreme climatic condition or adverse
physiography. Man is helpless before natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanos, floods, landslides, storms etc.
Neo-Deterministic Approach
The concept of neo determinism was put forwarded by Griffith Taylor in the 1920. He urged that the limits of agricultural
settlement in Australia had been set by factors in the physical environment such as distribution of rainfall. He believed that
the best economic program for a country to follow has in large part been determined by nature and its geographer’s duty to
interpret its program. He criticized the concept of possibilism and stressed on the fact that although nature has offered
humans a lot of scope for the development but it has also set the ultimate limits that man should not cross. He asserted that
a geographer’s role is essentially that of an adviser and not to interpret the nature’s plan. Man is able to accelerate, slow or
stop the progress of a country’s development. He is like the traffic controller in a large city who alters the rate not the
direction of progress and perhaps the phrase stop and go determinism expresses sufficiently writer’s geographical philosophy.
Neo-determinism is nothing but a compromise between extreme philosophies. According to this concept, nature provides
opportunities for man to use these possibilities according to his wisdom. But man is not free from the control of nature.
Taylor suggests that the goal must be adjustment to nature's plan, the carrying out of nature's programme. The opportunities
offered by any environment are neither equal, nor limitless. For every choice price must be paid, but within the limits of
freedom to choose. According to Spate, the role of a geographer is basically advisory, he can help to plan efforts in such a way
so that harmony with nature and development, can be established. (The viewpoint is now called Sustainable Development,)
In fact, "man can conquer nature only by obeying her."
Stop and Go determinism has become quite relevant in the present day context. The unabated use of the earth’s resource to
fulfill the greed of human society has led to the various problems.
The impact of nature should be assessed in its totality, rather than 'single factor determinist' point of view. Ecological studies
have taught us that all nature is inter-connected. While discussing 'environmental causation', John E. Chappell, Jr., has given
the following ten guiding principles for a more realistic evaluation of environmental impact and limitations:
1.The single factor determinist is merely a straw man.
2. The fact that all nature is one does not imply that unity cannot be analyzed.
3. Causation can indeed be discovered without specifying every link in a mechanistic causal chain.
4. The most profound truths are usually the hardest to discover, to confirm, and to quantify,
5. Subjective truths are valued more highly, but objective truths are usually more powerful in the long run.
6. The enviror nent is not stable, and therefore changing culture does not, in itself, prove lack of environmental influence.
7. Cultural diffusion is not the logical antithesis of environmental causation.
8. Environmentally-shaped traits generated in one place may be carried to another place, where they will not be reshaped
immediately.
9. Environmental influences are not limited to material phases of life, they also affect our minds, and our habits.
10. Environmental determinism is not a politically reactionary philosophy, and it can be applied towards the solution of large
practical problems.
“Probabilism” is another term used by a few geographers. According to Hagget, "probabilism is a compromise position
between environmentalism and possibilism that assigns different probabilities to alternative patterns of geographical
behavior in a particular location or environment." Fleure, Spate, Martin, Woolridge and East, Roxby, Herbertson, etc., have
expressed their ideas on man-environment relationship in terms of man's adjustment in nature and have also given due
weightage to the modern scientific developments.
Ecological Approach
Ecology deals with mutual interactions between organisms and physical environment on the one hand and interactions
among the organisms on the other hand in a given ecosystem. Man is considered as an integral part of nature/environment.
C.C. Park (1980) opines that "the relationship of man with the natural environment should be symbiotic and not exploitative
or suppressive.“
The ecological school recognises man as the most skilled, intelligent, and leader of all biota and steward of the earth. This
approach lays emphasis on wise and restrained use of natural resources and application of appropriate environmental
management programmes, policies and strategies.
According to Moonis Raza there is a need to humanize nature because "we cannot think of a 'non-humanized nature' and a
'non-natural men. Man does not just adapt himself to nature but actually interacts with it. He is not a passive element but on
active factor in the ecosystem.Thus, ecological approach is the best way to explain the man- environment relationship.”
System Approach
Attempts have been made to understand the interaction of man and environment by using a systems analysis approach. A system
can be defined as 'a set of objects together with the relationship between the objects and between their attributes’, and can
operate at any scale, from atoms in a molecule to the universe itself. The relationship between man and environment can be
viewed as an ecosystem, which is a term first used in ecology to describe the functional interactions among and between living
organisms and their environment. The task of the geographer is to identify the various elements in the system, understand how
they work, discover how they are related to each other and then study their interaction as a functioning whole. The concept of
ecosystem is also useful in planning. Harvey (1969) opines that system analysis is the best approach for analyzing geographical
problems: Within an environment there exist many systems and sub-systems. Environment on a larger scale farms the biospheric
system.
However, there are two problems associated with the use of the ecosystem approach:
( i )the scale and complexity of the system which make it difficult to analyze,
( ii ) the role of man.
The ecosystem implies some sort of balanced, functioning whole, but man is increasingly the dominant element in this system
and may not even be an integral part of it, if it is accepted that man is not part of nature. Very complex socio-economic
considerations are the most important factors affecting man's relationships with the environment, which is becoming increasingly
man-made, and these have to be taken into account. A systems analysis approach is still useful, although systems are very
difficult to analyse, but the ecosystem might better be replaced by the idea of a 'control system' in which man controls negative,
feedback to maintain the stability of the system while using positive feedback to create change. In this system, iman's role is not
just ecosystem management, but positive socio-economic planning which can change the ecosystem to his advantage.)
Historical Progression of Man-Environment Relationship
Man is an important factor of the environment. As such, he plays important roles in the environmental system in different capacities e.g. as 'physical man', 'economic man', and 'technological man'. Like all other
organisms, all the functions of man are affected and determined by his natural environment. Man, in turn, influences and modifies his environment and creates cultural landscapes. These mutual interactions between
man and environment can be studied in historically perspective through various stages of development of civilization, as mentioned below:

Period of
Period of Animal Period of Science,
Period of Hunting Agriculture and
Domestication and Technology and
and Gathering Plant
Pastrolism Industrialization
Domestication
1. Period of Hunting and Food Gathering
Primitive man was functionally a 'physical men'. His basic requirements were limited to food only which he obtained from his surroundings.
The early man was a food gatherer. He collected fruits, berries, roots, etc. from plants and trees. He supplemented his food from hunting
animals. Hunting and gathering. involved exploitation of resources yet these activities did not make any change in the natural environment as
the human population was very low at that time.
The discovery of fire brought about a significant change in man's life. Now he learned to roast animal fresh. He required wood for roasting
meat. So, he invented tools to cut and chop trees, and weapons to kill animals. He also used fire to drive animals. The inadvertent burning of
forests due to carelessness of man while cooking and roasting meat by fire caused the first destruction of environment. According to Botkin
and Keller (1982), "fire was one of the major ecological tools used by human beings to change the environment for their own benefit. Indeed,
fire has been used around the world by early peoples to clear the land for improved travel and hunting, or for farming“

2. Period of Animal Domestication and Pastoralism


At the end of Palaeolithic Period, man began to domesticate animals. According to Wells, horse was the first animal to be famed. Upto
Neolithic period dogs, sheep, goats and pigs had also been tamed. The archaeological evidences from Switzerland reveal that the people
reared cows alongwith goats. Poultry is known to be first practised in Myanmar, which later became prevalent in China and Greece. According
to Child donkeys were domesticated in Africa, as early as 3000 B.C. Domestication of animals might have given birth to community life in
order to protect themselves and their tamed animals from wild animals. People still led a nomadic way of life as they had to move from one
place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The increase in population and the tamed animals was still under
manageable size, and as such, the changes brought by human activities in the environment continued to be within the limit of self regulatory
mechanism of the natural environmental system.
Botkin and Keller (1982) have noted the following changes introduced by domestication of animals on the natural environment:
1. Hunting of animals for their own and for tamed animals.
2. Decrease in the abundance of some animals through hunting.
3. Increase in the abundance of some animals species when they altered the habitats of animals.
4. Burning of forests for making his and tamed animal's movement easy.
5. Domestication of plants and animals.
6. Change in the erosion rates by clearing of land for farming and thereby altering soils and vegetations.
7. Transport of organisms into new areas.

3. Period of Plant Domestication and Agriculture


Domestication of plants for food in the Neolithic period was a hallmark in the development of human skill. In initiated primitive type of agriculture
and sedentary life of people. In fact, agriculture paved the way for the organization of society, and gave birth to the various river valley civilization.
Expansion of agriculture and a settled and organized community life, led to gradual increase in population. As population grew, more and virgin
forest lands were cleared through felling and burning of trees. People also moved to other areas in search of new fertile land. Thus, the spread of
human population led to the destruction of natural ecosystem. Shifting cultivation, known as 'slash and burn' cultivation is still prevalent in many
parts of the world. It was responsible for destruction of natural forests.
It is believed that the first domestication of plants for food crops was started in the north-western part of South America and south-east Asia. That is
why Carl Sauer has called these areas as the 'Planting Hearth’. He identified four areas of the origin of cereal plants
(i) Guatemala-Mexico region where com was domesticated for the first time and beans squashes were domesticated later, and
(ii) North-western India - Eastern Mediterranean region-where wheat, barley, rye, oat, etc., were first domesticated.
(iii) North China region-where millets and soyabeans were developed, and
(iv) Abyssinian Highland region-where sorghums were domesticated. From these regions the cereal crops were dispersed and distributed to other
areas.
The agricultural development introduced a new chapter in the development of human civilization. Man created his own environment known as
the 'cultural environment. by building houses, places of worship, roads, canals, etc. All these could be possible because of development in
technologies, which changed the natural environment. These changes were brought about as a result of man's attempt to modify the earth to
increase its capacity to support him, and to satisfy his increasingly large range of needs and desires. However, such changes did not involve much
damage to the environment.

4. Period of Science, Technology and Industrialization


The dawn of Industrial Revolution in the mid-eighteenth century, and the development of science and technology initiated the hostile
relationship between man and his natural environment. The emergence of the 'technological man' led to reckless and indiscriminate exploitation
of natural resources for industrialization and urbanization, and created many environmental and ecological problems of global dimension.
With an increase in human activities, the area of the 'ecumene' (inhabited earth) was extended. Through a series of migrations, man spread to
almost all parts of the earth. The Europeans have outpoured the almost empty lands of America, southern Africa and Australasia since 1500 A.D.
The ecumene was further extended by technology. New areas of human occupancy were created by drainage and land reclamation schemes such
as the Delta Project in Holland or by large scale irrigation schemes such as the Aswan Dam in Egypt. The margins of cultivation were extended by
the drought resistant plants, new methods of cultivation such as dry farming, etc. Technology, by creating a demand for minerals, led to human
settlement in the most hostile environments such as the desert oil fields of the Sahara, or the high altitude tin mines in Bolivia.
Another important aspect has been the intensification of the use of the environment by man to increase its productive capacity. In the field of
agriculture new high yielding crops were developed which have been instrumental in the Green Revolution in Southeast Asia. Artificial fertilizers
and pesticides were developed to sustain and protect crops machines were produced to cultivate them. High-yielding animals have also been
bred. In the field of industry, new processes have been developed to produce large quantities of goods, new materials such as plastics have been
created, and the size and range of the demand for raw materials has been greatly expanded.
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