GGR210H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Social Geography, Cultural Geography, Environmental Determinism
Document Summary
Chapter 1 of del casino, vincent jr. (2009)_social geography a critical introduction. A philosophy positing that social development is determined by the environmental conditions in which societies develop. This philosophical position generally fell out of favour in geography in the early twentieth century. This theory, which is attracted to the french school of cultural geography in the early twentieth century, suggests that while the physical environment offers certain constraints on the social world, humans can modify the environment to meet their needs. This is both a philosophy and a political position. It suggests that society is owned collectively, while arguing that societies should eliminate (or minimize) government influence to maximize individual freedoms through voluntarism. This philosophical approach held limited appeal in geography at the turn of the twentieth century. It was resurrected in the 1970s as part of the social relevance in the discipline, and still holds sway with certain thinkers in social geography today.
