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James Blaut: Environmental Determinism

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In this source review, James Blaut views that natural environment played a major part in Europe, according to two bestselling books: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond and The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David Landes. The review states that European culture flourished because of the environmental determinism. Blaut goes through many points to prove that Europe grew from environmentalism. This source believes that historians viewed that the Europeans were favored in the eyes of a Christian god. The god made them the superior race. People showed a religious viewing to Europeans and believed environmental determinism as atheistic and materialistic. Throughout the years, religious explanations became unpopular. Then, people started to believe that the superiority was based on race and environment. …show more content…

392). Most of history happened in the Eurasia portion of the world. Diamond states that human progress was helped by three ultimate causes: “the shape of the continents, the distribution of domestication, and geographical barriers that inhibit diffusion” (pg. 393). These causes helped the rise of food production. The climate of the countries helps in relation to the distribution of food in many countries. Diamond gives a main point of cultivation coming from the Fertile Crescent. He uses diffusion, not when it is convenient for him, but appeals that diffusion grew rapidly. When Diamond does not mention diffusion or mentions very little of it, Diamond’s theory ends with many miscalculations. His theory leads to things such as invention and innovation. In Blaut’s review, environmental causes were found for topographical reasons. Imprecise observations from Diamond argues Eurocentric world history. He viewed his work using natural science. According to Blaut, Diamond was using bad science. His findings state natural science and ignore a social science

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Ancient civilizations all developed near a source of water, where producing crops was not a concern. Since people did not need to move place to place for food, they could settle down and form civilizations. Geography was a major reason the ancient civilizations and the people living there

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McNeill critiques Diamond’s book for centering on biological and environmental factors, while ignoring other important aspects of the world’s civilizations development. McNeill writes that, “…vast differences in the wealth and power that different human societies have at their command today reflect what long chains of ancestors did, and did not, do by way of accepting and rejecting new ways of thought and action, most of which were in no way dictated by…environmental factors” (McNeill 3-4). McNeill believes that Diamond misses aspects of why societies are the way they are, specifically how culture has effected development. According to McNeill, there may have been a time when access to food and the environment limited human capacity, but as time went on humans were able to start shaping the environment around them, thus having less influence on the development of civilizations (McNeill 5). Another main point of criticism is how Diamond belittles religion’s effects on civilizations’ development.

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