Why is geographical environmental determinism a kind of progress for Europe under the shackles of idealism?

(1) "Geographical environmental determinism" is regarded as a viewpoint of the geographical school of bourgeois sociology. As early as in ancient Greece, the idea that geographical environment determines social phenomena was born. In the Middle Ages, the Arab thinker and historian Ibn Halton also tried to prove the role of geographical environment in social life. During the formation and development of capitalism, bourgeois scholars further developed the idea that geographical environment determines social development. This paper demonstrates the secular origin of social system and the naturalness of capitalist relations of production, which are being consolidated by opposing the religious view that the law of social life is creative. /kloc-in the 6th century, the French thinker J. Bodan believed that the geographical environment determined the national character, the formation of the country and the progress of society. /kloc-Montesquieu, a French enlightenment thinker in the 0/8th century, in his book On the Spirit of Law, gave full play to the idea that geographical conditions and climate affect the lives and habits of people of all ethnic groups and their economies and even their political systems. /kloc-in the middle of the 0/9th century, geographical environmental determinism, as a naturalistic trend of thought, has widely penetrated into history. Political science and sociology, economics and anthropology. In the two-volume History of British Civilization, British historian Barker believes that food, climate, soil and "the overall appearance of nature" are decisive factors for social development. He attributed the unbalanced development of civilization to nature and thought that social inequality was natural. German geographer F Ratzer and American geographer E Huntington both emphasized the role of geographical location and climate in the formation and development of human civilization. Today, too many people are criticizing the "geographical environment determinism", mainly because more and more intelligent human beings are gradually enhancing their initiative. They think that they can overcome nature in their minds (although they deny it verbally), but they don't know how small they are when facing nature. Being small is a little sad. I really hope that more than 200,000 people who died in the Indonesian tsunami can be resurrected, so that they can personally tell today's self-righteous people that we should really be modest in the face of nature. What are most people doing today? Most people are destroying nature for the benefit of human beings. Of course, it is undeniable that this is for survival, but then again, what are you doing? We are trying our best to adapt to nature. We humans develop mainly by adapting to nature. Those who oppose "geographical environmental determinism" say that "geographical environmental determinism" is an exogenous theory of metaphysics. I want to ask, what is metaphysics? How is it reflected? (2) Before the exam, I accidentally saw a comment in the book "Ma Zhe", pointing out that the determinism of geographical environment is wrong and this view must be opposed and criticized. The reason for opposition and criticism is that the geographical environment cannot determine the nature of society, the specific development process and road. This reason gives two reasons, that is, two reasons for denying "geographical environmental determinism", which I think is very sonorous. It is also a naive reason. Below I will deny these two reasons of "geographical environmental determinism": I deny that it has obviously made the mistake of mechanical materialism. The book said: "Countries with the same geographical environment may have completely different social nature and social system, while countries with different geographical environments may have the same social nature and social system. In addition, countries with good geographical environment may be in a relatively backward low-level stage; On the contrary, in countries with poor geographical environment, social nature and social system may be at a more advanced and advanced stage. " The presentation of this case is too mechanized, unilaterally negating a problem and completely ignoring other factors that affect the existence and development of these countries. Mechanical materialism has its most obvious example: we all know that the economic base determines the superstructure, so what kind of economic base requires what kind of superstructure (including politics, ideology, culture, religion, etc.). ), we can see that having the same or extremely similar economic base (productivity) can form very different social structures, value systems and cultural forms (such as Britain, France, Germany, the United States and Japan and poor countries in Africa). Of course, the viewpoint in the book can be correct, but only if we first acknowledge Marx's analysis of the viewpoint that the economic base determines the superstructure. If there is no conclusion so far, we can think that this inherent law and special law may be: "The existence and development of human society is accompanied by the existence and development of geographical environment." Even if there is a conclusion, we can doubt it. It is easy to understand that the existence of human society depends on the existence of geographical environment, but when it comes to the relationship between the development of human society and geographical environment, it will cause many questions. In order to solve this problem, I will put forward the contents of "rhetorical decision" and "dynamic geographical environment" below. I deny "2": the book says that geographical environment can only play a role in human history through social production. Various elements in geographical environment, such as mineral deposits, rivers, lakes, etc. , can not directly play a role and influence in the process of social development, only when they enter the production process and become the means of production. Only in this way can it play a role in social production, life and social development. Outside the production process and mode, the geographical environment can not play a role in social development. For example, underground mineral deposits and oil existed in ancient times, but they were not recognized by people, entered the production process and were not developed and utilized, so they did not play any role in the production, life and social development of human society. Today, they are applied to the production process and are developed and utilized in human society and production. How do we consume and use it? Just as production determines consumption (provided that we admit that production determines consumption is the correct proposition), shouldn't our consumption be based on production? Only what we produce can we consume. From this point of view, the correctness of "geographical environment determinism" cannot be explained, and it needs to be further discussed from other angles. (3) I recently read He Xin's article Crisis and Challenge: The Difficult Road to Modernization in China. He Xin said: "Cultural form is the first result of human adaptation to ecology, and the personality and behavior of social people are also a function of cultural form (social structure, value system and socialization model). In other words, the ecological type determines the cultural form (economic type-social structure-value system), and the cultural form affects the character and behavior of social people. I think, first of all, Mr. He Xin affirmed the "geographical environment determinism" and explained it from the perspective of China: "The main origins of ancient culture in China are Huang, Huai and Wei. That is, the ancient Central Plains. The so-called Central Plains means Central Plains (the name "China" is related to this. If we look at the geographical situation of the Central Plains of China and the Asian continent from the map, we can notice the fact that this plain is in an almost closed geographical space. In the north and west of this great plain, there are Yanshan Mountain, Taihang Mountain, Luliang Mountain, Funiu Mountain and Qinling Mountain. And Wudang Mountain. There are Dabie Mountain, Wuling Mountain, Jiuyi Mountain, Tianri Mountain, Nanling Mountain and Wuyishan Mountain in the south, all the way to the South China Sea. These mountains surround the central plain from north, west and south like barriers and walls. Here we should especially point out the original meaning of the word "Yue" of the mountain-"Yue, Yuan Ye", that is, the wall. This plain is surrounded by three seas-the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. This closed geographical situation is very conducive to engaging in agriculture and animal husbandry and operating a self-sufficient economic life, but it is not conducive to the development of an open commercial economy. After Qin and Han Dynasties, the concept of ancient political geography in China was expanded, and China no longer simply referred to the Central Plains. However, the geographical situation of this closed cycle has not fundamentally changed. Until the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall, which cost a lot to rebuild, was itself a political and military ring that restricted the space of civilization. By the Qing Dynasty, China's territory had greatly expanded to the northeast and northwest. However, the Gobi Desert and mountains in Siberia, the Mongolian Plateau and the interior of Central Asia still block China's cultural vision. Although there was an intermittent trade route to the west in ancient times-"Silk Road", it did not become the main artery to introduce Greek and Roman culture into ancient civilization in China. After the late Tang Dynasty, this road was actually closed. Seen from the sea area, the Central Plains, where Chinese civilization first developed, is actually a semi-closed inland sea facing the Bohai Sea. On the opposite side of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, Korea and Japan were both subcultures under the radiation of China culture in ancient times. There is no higher heterogeneous civilization than China's agricultural culture. This closed geographical space structure led to the closed state of ancient civilization in China. Ancient Greek civilization was a decentralized city-state, with a developed social division of labor and commercial economy. Through land and sea transportation, an open economic network organization and a loose federal political civilization will be formed. This tradition of political civilization has always influenced North America and Western Europe today. In China, the function of ancient cities seems completely different from that of Greek city-states. The city of China is the center of religion, politics and culture, but it is not the economic center of commerce and handicrafts. "China's closed geographical form stifled the development of commerce and handicrafts, making it an economic type of agricultural accessories and their relationship. This economic type and its relationship have created a self-sufficient economic life. However, it is not conducive to the development of an open commercial economy. At the same time, the economic types and their relations caused by this geographical environment have formed the inert and happy thoughts that still pervade China farmers' thoughts, which undoubtedly led to the formation of centralization, and centralization is also maintaining the economic types that formed it-agriculture and animal husbandry. Then, maybe many people will ask: "If the' geographical environment determinism' is correct, that is, if we still agree to extend the original concept of' geographical environment', maybe this consciousness is correct in our ideology. The correctness of any truth has a historical background, and the "concept" must also be a "historical concept". So I use the concept of "geographical environment" of historical development to explain this problem. See you later. (4) Above, I mentioned that one of the reasons for denying "geographical decision" in the textbook "Ma Zhe" is that I don't put myself in the other's shoes, and pointed out the problem of "adverse decision". Let me explain in detail: Take Japan as an example. Japan's geographical environment is not good, and minerals, oil and coal are scarce, but Japan's economy is very developed. Here, it is the harsh geographical environment that makes the Japanese in this environment have to use their brains and spend energy. Do everything possible to improve and improve the quality of life, that is, their thinking is more developed and keen, let this developed thinking work on economic development, make full use of their limited resources and energy, and make better use of others' resources and energy. This is "reverse decision". On the contrary, China has a vast territory and abundant resources, which led to the arrogance, complacency and ignorance of the people of the Qing Dynasty, and led to the humiliation of being beaten for a hundred years. We all know that. On the one hand, Jews have been displaced for thousands of years, Americans are immigrants, and some are forced by the environment. This is an obvious example of rhetorical decision, but on the other hand, immigration also shows how open the geographical environment in Europe is. Looking back at China, China has the largest population. In this way, we can explain why the agriculture in the south of China is richer than that in the north. However, this harsh geographical environment makes their thoughts more positive, and farmers in the north basically bind them to the land because of the superior conditions of large population and small land. They think that their rich capital is to plant the land well, thus forming negative thoughts such as inertia, happiness and conservatism of farmers in the north, leading to grassland reclamation, deforestation and land desertification. Farmers gamble and buy and sell marriages all day in winter, so we don't need to be suppressed by the bad geographical environment, let alone be too optimistic about the good geographical environment. We should treat the good and bad of geographical environment dialectically. In any case, we should always pay attention to cultivating our positive thoughts. We can see that the "adverse decision" on China's geographical environment will become more and more obvious in the future, even in the north of China. So we need to be prepared. Try not to let the conditions of "reverse decision" form, but have the result of "reverse decision"-positive thinking. Here we should protect the environment and save resources and energy. (5) Undertake the historical and developing "geographical environment" mentioned above. The concept of geographical environment accepted by people today refers to the sum of various natural conditions on which human beings depend for survival and development. Hegel once said: In my opinion, take it as a process. But we should also grasp a concept from the perspective of historical development. We are watching the development of something. If we only look at the result, purpose or influence of one thing, then we are cutting off history, and we are looking at the problem one-sidedly. The above concept of geographical environment has not adapted to today's historical background. Today, when we comment on "geographical environmental determinism", we are actually caught in a contradiction. If it is correct, it is inconsistent with our reality and the history in reality, and its correctness can easily be overturned by some phenomena. If it is wrong, it is in contradiction with Marx's "material determines consciousness" and "social existence determines social consciousness" It is wrong for too many people to choose "geographical environment determinism" because it comes from ideal reality and they are afraid of so-called dogmatism and bookishness. Haven't these people thought about it? They also committed dogmatism and bookishness, and they committed dogmatism and bookishness of concepts, so that they gave two far-fetched reasons. This is to avoid contradictions, and the truth needs us to face it bravely. Science needs us to resolve contradictions persistently. The root of this contradiction lies in the concept of "geographical environment". Usually our thinking is too formulaic for the word "concept". I think that the concept of "geographical environment refers to the sum of various natural conditions on which human beings depend for survival and development" can only be regarded as a static concept of "geographical environment", that is, a static geographical environment (but it is a geographical environment in logical thinking. The water is still flowing. Therefore, there must be a dynamic geographical environment. Today, with the development of society, the content of transportation (roads, railways, etc. ) has become an indispensable part of "geography" and is also the key content in geography textbooks. So, haven't we thought that it is a part of our "geographical environment" today? In fact, it already existed, but we didn't find it. Therefore, roads, railways and other traffic contents should be the dynamic geographical environment we are looking for. In time and space, someone will definitely point out: "Roads and railways are caused by human behavior, not natural conditions, and cannot be regarded as geographical environment." But are there no human footprints in those lakes and mineral deposits? In fact, the roads and railways here have only changed a little in the external form of stone and iron (but other things made of stone and iron may not be called geographical environment because they do not have the characteristics that geographical environment should have). Dynamic geographical environment is put forward to explain people's misunderstanding of "geographical environment determinism" and point out its importance. The development of dynamic geographical environment plays an important role in the progress of human society and civilization, and will also determine the development of human society. Contrary to the static geographical environment, the dynamic geographical environment makes human beings and human society progress and integrate from point to line. Therefore, for China, the dynamic geographical environment can not be ignored, especially when the economy needs to develop and the external political and economic environment is not very prosperous. We need a better dynamic geographical environment. We need it to spread ideas, spread unified ideas, unify ideas, and unite people of all ethnic groups throughout the country. Fortunately, in the 11th Five-Year Plan, it was placed in a fairly high position. Putting forward the concept of dynamic geographical environment will be more conducive to explaining the countries with poor geographical environment, and the social nature and social system may be in a more advanced stage. The "reverse decision" of static geographical environment determines that the nationalities in these countries can have developed thinking, and the development of dynamic geographical environment will also become another reason for the development of this country. (6) To sum up, I think the concept of "geographical environment" should include two parts, one is static geographical environment, and the other is dynamic geographical environment. Static geographical environment and dynamic geographical environment determine our physiology and psychology through "positive decision" and "negative decision", thus determining a nation's psychology, personality, religious belief and so on. , and further determines the nature of the social and economic system and political system. Therefore, "geographical environment determinism" is correct. (7) While Stalin criticized the determinism of geographical environment, China people in the 1950s were already criticizing crazily, and the criticism was to emphasize the role of people, or even more presumptuous, to exaggerate people's subjective initiative. Therefore, under the influence of the subjective factors of Mao Zedong's wild imagination and the critical atmosphere of "geographical environment determinism" at that time, the Great Leap Forward was inevitable, and the "Cultural Revolution" was also related to it. As a result, resources were wasted ... Today, it is also because of this idea that "geographical environment determinism" is resolutely denied and people's subjective initiative is exaggerated, leading to increasingly serious ecological crisis, resource crisis and energy crisis. Today's human beings, especially China people, should wake up! In the face of the geographical environment that encourages us, encourages us to waste and wastes our consumption, we are still complacent. And after that? Self-destruction, although I mentioned the problem of "reverse decision", but how sad that decision is, do we really have to choose to be forced? Maybe it is an inevitable trend! However, let's take a look: the tsunami in Southeast Asia is related to ecological destruction! The United States hit Iraq partly because it was forced out by oil, right? ……