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Approaches to the Study of Environment

The human environment interaction is open complex to analyse as these relations


keep on changing through space and time. We can better understand this relationship
with help of various approaches as mentioned below:

A. Teleological Approach
B. Environmental Deterministic Approach
C. Possibilistic Approach
D. Economic Deterministic Approach
E. Ecological Approach
F. Geographical approach

A. Teleological Approach: It is based on religious faith (Judeo-Christian) of


man being superior to nature and all other organisms are subordinate to man.
This word is derived from two Greek words 'teleos' meaning end goal/
purpose or aim and 'logos' reason or explanation. Thus 'meaning a purpose
that is imposed by a human use'.
The scholars following this approach were impressed by the teachings of
Judeo Christianity. Man is superior to nature and everything is created for his
use and enjoyment in nature. The man has full control over the environment.
The scientific view of Carl Ritter, the German Geographer was
teleological. He played an important and direct role in the development and
growth of Geography in Germany. He studied the working of nature in order
to understand the purpose behind its order. He had a firm Belief in God as a
planner of universe. He regarded the earth as an educational model for human
kind, where nature had a God given purpose which was used for mankind.
According to him each continent was designed to a particular function which
each had played in the course of world history. Basically, he tried to provide
a philosophical explanation of fundamental facts of geography which science
of that time period could not explain.
This approach had a negative impact on man- environment relationship. It
encouraged humans to exploit natural resources and to subdue nature without
considering the after effects of reckless and uncontrolled exploitation of
natural resources. It led to rapid rate of exploitation of natural resources in
North America and western Europe as well as in the parts of the world where
British colonies were located. A large number of scientists and
environmentalists hold this religious approach accountable for present day
ecological crisis.
B. Environmental Deterministic Approach/Geographic Determinism: This
approach suggests man's subordination to environment in all aspects of the
human life. It further suggests not only dependence on the environment but
total control by the man i.e. 'earth made man'. This thought evolved out of
Charles Darwin's work, especially 'Origin of Species ' (1859) which
emphasize on environmental influences on man and other organisms. The
famous supporters of this approach was Frederic Le Play, Demolins,
Friedrich Ratzel, W.M. Davis, E.C. Semple, E. Huntington, and Griffith
Taylor.
Frederic Le Play (French engineer, sociologist and economist). He used
a phrase to explain that how physical environment is affecting the humans
and their society.
Place-Work-Folk.
Place represents environment where we live. Work represents the
working conditions of the place, type of work and how work shapes, at least
in part, the Social Organisation. Folk represent humans or social
organisations.

His concept was further elaborated by Demolins. He stated that 'society is fashioned
by environment'. He attempted to analyse social structure in terms of geographical
environment.

W.M.Davis, the American geographer and father of Geomorphology was also


interested in studying man-environment relationship. He made extensive
observations of human occupation on landforms and detailed a scientific plan for
anthropogenic activity dealing with landforms in the United States.

Environmental determinism rose to its most prominent stage in the late 19th
century with the work of German geographer Friedrich Ratzel. He wrote 'Anthropo-
geographie', in which he discussed the impact of the physical environment on human
behaviour. He believed that the nature of human interaction with the environment
differs between cultures.

In the 20th century, environmental determinism was popularised in the USA


by Ratzel's student Ellen Churchill Semple. Her work described that how the
physical environment greatly controls human activity. In 1911, she wrote the book
'Influences of the Geographic Environment'. She mentioned that 'man is the product
of the Earth's surface'. This means not merely that he is the child of the earth, dust
of her dust, but the earth mothered him, fed him, set him tasks, directed his thoughts,
confronted him with difficulties, that have strengthened his body and sharpened his
wits, gave him his problems of irrigation and navigation and at the same time
whispered hints for their solutions.
She also stated that earth has given man strong leg muscles in mountains to
climb the slopes. Along the coastal area, she has left his leg muscles weak and
flabby. But given him strong chest and arm muscles to handle his paddles.

She further mentioned that the attitudinal characteristics of human vary in


different physical settings as these are also determined by nature. For example:
according to her the inhabitants of hilly area are conservative by nature as there is
little in his environment to stimulate him and he also lives in isolation.

Next important scholar of this school of thought is Ellsworth Huntington he


wrote three books in support of this approach:

i. Civilization and Climate (1915)


ii. The human and the Habitat (1927)
iii. Seasons of Birth: Its Relation to Human Abilities (1938)

His work lead to a subset of environmental determinism called Climatic


determinism. He believed that out of all the factors of natural environment, climate
was the fundamental factor in the rise of the Civilization (1939). He divided the
world into the mild and harsh climatic zones. His theory stated that economic
development in a country can be predicted based on its distance from the equator.
He said temperate climates with short growing seasons stimulate achievement,
economic growth and efficiency. The ease of growing things in Tropics on the other
hand hindered their advancement.

The under development of the tropics, he explains, is owing to the humid, hot,
oppressive weather which makes the people lethargic, lazy, inefficient, suspicious
and timid.

Griffith Taylor, an Australian geographer put forward the concept of 'neo-


determinism'. It is also called 'Stop and Go Determinism'. He believed that in
Australia the environment is much more extreme and it control over human activity
is enormous. In the short term, people might attempt whatever they wished with
regard to their environment, but in the long term, nature's plan would ensure that
environment won the battle and forced a compromise out of its occupant.

The best economic program for a country to follow has in large part been
determined by nature, and it is the geographer's duty to interpret this program. “Man
is able to accelerate, slow or stop the progress of a country's development. But he
should not, if he is wise, depart from directions as indicated by the natural
environment. is like the traffic controller in a large city who alters the rate but not
the direction of progress".

Environmental determinism was replaced by Possibilism by 1950's.

Possibilistic Approach: Environmental possibilism believes that although the


environment may be limiting in some aspects, but humans can overcome the
environmental conditions, through knowledge, skills, technology and money. Thus,
this approach talks about possibilities that humans have to adjust to the limitations
set by the environment.

This concept of possibilism was founded by Febvre and he stated that 'man is a
Geographic agent and not the least'. Febvre (1932) in 'A Geographical Introduction
to History' stated 'there are no necessities, but everywhere possibilities; and man as
a master of these possibilities, is the judge of their uses'.

This approach put man a bit ahead of earth i.e man before nature. This approach
mentioned that the relationship between man and his environment is reciprocating.
Nature modifies him and he changes some of his activities according to nature and
in turn man also modify the nature.
After Febvre, two French geographhers, Vidal De La Blache and Jeans Brunhes and
American geographers Isaiah Bowman and Carl Sauer founded school of
possibilism.

According to Vida De La Blache, man and environment are inseparable. It is also


not possible to distinguish the influence of man on nature and nature on man. The
focus of his philosophy was "nature has set boundaries and has provided possibilities
for human settlement, but the way a person responds to these conditions or adjust it
depends on the traditional way of the life".

Blache in his article of year1913 states that geography as a discipline seeks to


measure the role of man in modifying the earth surface. According to him, man is
not a passive agent but is an active force who is modifying the nature.

Jeans Brunhes was influenced by Blache's idea and he promoted is used outside
France in different parts of the world. Febvre in his writings had accepted that man
can never in entirety rid themselves, whatever they do, of the hold their environment
has on them.

Bruhnes also accepted the limitations of man's control over nature. His prime focus
was on the actualities of exploitation of the earth by man, irrespective of whether
they show environmental influence or not. He also said that nature is not compulsory
but the approval. Brunhes cited examples such as drainage of coastal lowlands
causing the land to sink and to be re-flooded by the sea or the busting of dykes etc.
to advocate that men should have moderate ambitions because the grander ambitions
we have, the bolder will be the opposition force put forward by nature to destroy are
masterwork.
Carl Sauer presented a more acceptable view of possibilism. He asserted that a
geographer's role is to investigate and understand the nature of transition from
natural to cultural landscapes. From such exercise, the geographers could identify
the major changes that have occurred in an area as a result of occupancy by
succession of human growth. So when we are disturbing the nature in any form, the
range of possibilities in every region are limited. More or less by the price man is
willing to pay for what he wants than by the dictates of the problem.

Isaiah Bowmen was mainly concerned with studying man's variable responses to the
physical laws. He stated that 'while the physical laws to which mankind responds
are variable in their application and in degree of effect, yet this is also true that all
men everywhere are affected to some degree by physical conditions'.

In his research paper 'The pioneer fringe' he talked about crisis faced by the
civilization. The gist of this article is that no civilization till now has declined
because of exhausting the possibilities of nature. It is just that the government
structure of that particular civilization was lacking the knowledge to control the
forces of nature.

So, possibilist scholars replace the deterministic terms 'control' by 'influence' and
'influence' by 'response' or 'adjustments'. Thus, the possibilists did not deny that there
were natural limits to the activities of humans, but emphasized the significance of
human choices of activity rather than the natural limitations to it.

Probabilism: The concept of probability was put forward by O.H.K. Spate (1957).
It lies in between determinism and possibilism. It is based on the idea that the
physical environment does not specifically determine human activities, yet it gives
some reactions to others. This approach is not concerned with whom influences who
but rather is balanced on probability. This school of thought suggest that based on
the nature of the environment, humans will be more likely to make certain decisions
over other ones. For example: if in a region, forests are scarce that means wood
supply will be limited. so houses will be constructed from mud or stone rather than
wood.

In this situation, a possibilist would identify the range of materials from which
houses could be constructed from. Whereas in probabilism, we will attempt to
measure which building material is most likely to be used in constructed houses.

Economic deterministic approach: Economic determinism states that financial


status is the basis at which all other societal arrangements such as political and social
arrangements are determined. Thus according to this approach economy decides the
fate of man’s interaction with environment. This approach also believes on man’s
mastery over environment and the quality of environment normally assumes lower
priority in planning. The industrial revolution and associated economic expansion
promoted this approach.

This approach based itself on to assumption’s:

1. Positive correlation between the population of a given region and the level of
economic development and activity in that region.
2. The interaction of people, resources and society being governed by universal
economic principles.
W. Zelinsky (1966), believed that man was capable of solving environmental
problems arising out of continued economic growth and industrial expansion.
This extreme concept of economic determinism led to rapid exploitation of
natural resources in Western Developed Countries and currently, in the
developing countries. Developing nation’s by following similar economic
growth pattern will create global ecological problems.
Ecological approach: The study of man- environmental relationships is
based on the basic concept of Ecology. Ecology is a study of mutual
interactions between organisms and physical environment on one hand and
interactions among organism in a given ecosystem on the other hand. This
approach suggests man as an individual part of the ecosystem and his action
should be symbiotic and not exploitative nor suppressive. C. C. Park promoted
this approach and mentioned that the relationship between man and
environment is two directional as environment affects and influences man and
in turn man also influences and modifies the environment. Thus, man-
environment relationship is mutual and symbiotic.
It recognizes human being as most skilled and intelligent amongst all other
species on earth surface. This approach further lays emphasis on wise and
judicious use of natural resources, application of appropriate environmental
management strategies and policies, and also replenishment and recycling of
natural resources.
Geographical approach: The geographical approach refers to using
geographic science supported by GIS as a framework for understanding our
world and applying geographic knowledge to solve environmental problems
and guide man- environment relationship. ESRI (Environmental systems
Research Institute, headquartered in California, USA) President Jack
Dangermond mentions that ‘the geographic approach is a new way of thinking
and problem solving that integrates geographic information into how we
understand and manage our planet'. This approach allows us to create
geographic knowledge by measuring the earth, organizing this data, and
analyzing and modeling various processes and their relationships. The
geographic approach also allows us to apply this knowledge to the way we
design, plan and change our world.
This problem solving approach can be traced back to 1969 published Book
entitled ‘Design with Nature' by Ian L. McHarg. His approach was based on
collecting data in a chronological order; that is, regional climate helps shape
the geology of our place, which in turn affects other abiotic processes such as
physiography and hydrology, which influence the specific soils and
microclimates of the place. These abiotic processes come together to form
habitat for plant and animal species. He suggested that information about
these processes could be mapped and overlaid in what he called a ‘layer cake’
model, which then could be used to identify the opportunities and issues for
probable land uses.
The multi-layered model with which McHarg experimented, initially
using transparent overlays, has evolved to become today’s GIS technology.
“We must see nature as a process within which man exists, splendidly
Equipped to become the manager of the biosphere (McHarg, 1998a)”.
Today the geographic approach is used for location based analysis and
environmental management and decision making.
Conclusion: All the above mentioned approaches have gained importance from time
to time and from place to place. These approaches to study man-environment
relationship have varied because of our expansion of knowledge about our
surroundings and our increasing ability to intervene with natural environment.

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