objection 1 to diamonds view (environmental determinism)
environmental determinism is problematic.
- environmental determinism is not merely the trivial claim that the natural environment influence human action, but rather it assumes that the environment is a better explanation over cultural factors
-Empirical criticism- environmental determinism is a poor explanation- there may be, and often are, cultural reasons to choose a pastoralist economy over an agricultural one, for instance.
-normative criticism- environmental determinism strips human beings of agency- there were similarly intentional decisions to pursue European imperialism and seize resources
what is environmental determinism
the explanation for eurasian and North American civilizations survival, growth, and success can be found in geography and other various environmental opportunities- not superior intelligence or inherent ability
- the east/west axis is ultimately responsible for the ships, political organization, and disease that gave europeans the standing for civilizational success.
what does it mean to say that Diamond’s view is predicated upon a false premise?
Diamond seems to assume that the things Europeans hold valuable and strive to invent/create are the same things that Africans strive for.
- Yali asks why europeans cannot respect African cultures as they are and still trade with them
- Yali’s question is not about the stuff. it is about the colonial relationship, about why europeans feel the need to colonize Africa
- Diamond also seems to assume that European technological superiority requires explanation, could just be a cultural difference
What is Eurocentric diffusionism
the view that cultural processes move from Europe to non-Europe, where non-Europe is the recipient
What assumptions must be made in order to think that Eurocentric diffusionism is true
- that outside factors or activities (trade, colonialism) were not themselves extreme benefits to Europe
- that “rationality” or religion, or spirituality were the primary source of European technology- regardless of whether the source is inherently genetic or environmental
- requires the evaluation that colonialisms primary effect was modernization and change, not cultural destruction.
how does the charge of eurocentrism challenge diamonds view
Eurocentricism has an undertone of genetic determinism and racism, which was exactly what diamond was trying to avoid in proposing environmental determinism
general conclusions from Diamonds argument
diamonds project was aimed at undermining genetic determinism and racism, but the environmental determinism is still problematically Eurocentric
- this is descriptively inadequate, because the explanations for European technological superiority are false
- this is evaluatively (or normatively) inadequate, because it places European superiority at the center of engaging with others’ state.
