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The meaning of environmental determinism

What is the meaning of environmental determinism? How did naturalisation of humans lead to the development of this concept?


1 Answer


The concept of environmental determinism explains that human is a passive agent, influenced by the environmental factors that are physical factors like climate, flora, fauna, etc which determine the attitude of decision-making and lifestyle of human beings. When technology was not well developed, humans were afraid of nature’s fury and worshipped it.

For instance, the Eskimos of Tundra adapted to the extremely cold climate. This type of interaction was between primitive human society and nature. At the time, forces of nature were stronger and humans struggled to survive in that environment. This gave rise to the term environmental determinism.

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