Influence of Geography or Environmentalism by Montesquieu

 Shaharior Rahman  Razu, Lecturer, Sociology Discipline, Khulna University.

Montesquieu was born January 18, 1689, Chateau La Brede, near Bordeaux, France and died February 10, 1755, Paris. He was a French political philosopher whose major work, The Spirit of Laws, was a major contribution to political theory.

Influence of Climate

The one of Montesquieu's most celebrated doctrines is that of the political influence of climate. Basing himself on doctrines met in his reading, on the experience of his travels, and on experiments-admittedly somewhat naive-conducted at Bordeaux. However, among Muslim thinkers there seems to be only Ibn-Khaldun thinking on this issue earlier.

Influence of Geography or “Environmentalism”

Montesquieu says that the political institutions are determined by the nature of human being and the human nature is influenced by climate. At the same time law is also affected by the climatic condition. Forming this logical assumption he proposed it as naming "Environmentalism”.
He stressed the effect of climate, primarily thinking two aspects:

• Heat and
• Cold

Dividing these two aspects we find that the western dwellers are the cold regions.  While the Asians and Africans are the hot climate regions.

At first we will discuss the characteristics of the effect of cold weather.

1. The cold climate makes a man energetic and active.
2. The cold climate is conducive to liberty.
3. People drink a lot to avoid coldness.
4. The rate of suicide is high.
5. The laws are less rigid.

Now we will have a look at the hot climatic environment. 

1. It involves lethargy and passivity.
2. It is conducive to despotism.
3. Hot weather is also conducive to slavery.
4. Monastic rises for the hot weather.
5. Hot climate conforms rigid law.

    Also, several other factors are responsible:

1. Fertility of soil. 
2. Amount of rainfall.
3. Eruption.
4. Efficiency of people and so on.

Other Issues

On the state of the individual climate makes significant consequence. He claims this influence is not save in primitive societies. It is the legislator's duty to counteract it. Montesquieu insist that climate is but one of many factors in an assembly of secondary causes that he called the "general spirit”. The other factors at the same time as he listed being the most important are:

1. Physical frame: The climate makes racial distinction in different areas.
2. Intellectual outlook:  These are of a nonphysical nature which derives from  climate.
3. Laws: The rigidness of law as written earlier affects the nature of law.
4. Religion: It varies from place to place also  for climatic condition.
5. Maxims of government: Also are of a nonphysical nature and their influence, compared with that of climate grows as civilization advance.

Criticism:

Montesquieu's concept about Influence of Geography does not lack criticism as it is questioned by Dunning, Popper and other political thinkers.

1. The people of hot countries are not always sluggish or lethargic as he thinks.
2. His environmentalism implies the superiority of westerns in disguise.
3. The environmentalism of law is less applied.
4. Despotism is not always common among the oriental countries.
5. Popper writes,  "...Religion is not that much of the boundary  influenced  by climate"

Despite some lacks, we find a lot of exact concepts familiar in condition. Thus, the climate has some influence over  human society.

To cite this Article:

MLA Style:  , “Locke, John.tf Encyclopedia  Britannica, Ultimate Reference Suite.
Chicago: Encyclopedia  Britannic a, 2008 . Prepared for
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