What are some implications of stereotypes like these? How might these early ideas about environmental determinism have influenced actions towards non-Europeans?
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Brandon Davis
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What are some implications of stereotypes like these? How might these early ideas about environmental determinism have influenced actions towards non-Europeans?
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eddietastic, 
brenden, 
natashap, and 23 others are discussing.
jonl 1:18 pm on January 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The first thought that comes to mind is the “white man’s burden”. I believe many of the colonizations that happened around that time had the idea that non-europeans are lost and need help. Ideas or point of views such as these really encourage this superiority mind set. At that time these ideas were coming out, there probably weren’t many ways to disprove them and stories and images exist that can be perceive to support the ideas.
emilym 4:05 pm on January 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Ideas such as those proposed by Montesquieu definitely had an influence on how Europeans perceived non-Europeans. Since most Europeans of the time had never travelled outside of Europe, the only knowledge they had of non-Europeans was based off of ideas like Montesquieu’s. These beliefs paved the way for the concept of European racial superiority and validated Imperialism and slavery. Environmental determinism definitely affected how Europeans perceived and acted towards non-Europeans for centuries to come.
sampethick 6:17 pm on January 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This comment reminded me of something I read in another class about early Europeans discovering a new group of people somewhere and not even being about to classify them as human beings because of just how different they were. It’s amazing how superior the Europeans truly believed that they were and how these ideas were so firmly planted that they couldn’t fathom human beings being able to live some other way.
jaydee 6:55 pm on January 15, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
What I find interesting is the use of an empirical set of parameters, such as temperature and climate, to justify a clearly biased viewpoint. Considering that ideas such as the scientific method or “truth from empirical results” are developing around this time, I think that these stereotypes based on geographical properties reflect a naive understanding of science. When we consider our own time, there is a lot of importance placed on dismissing stereotypes based on logic and reason. Yet, during the time of these ideas, reason and logic are being used to enforce them.
sharonshi 6:57 pm on January 15, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Such ideas that Montesquieu proposed has implications such as the bringing up of debates and challenges to his claim. Such stereotypes from a man who is considered an “Enlightment Thinker” may be perceived as true and cause Europeans to view non-Europeans as superior to those that live elsewhere. What I find interesting is how this resembles how the Germans perceived the Jewish in the past. Much like the Germans, the Europeans may view non-Europeans as “inferior”, and the consequences left there may be be extremely pernicious.
bgibson 10:48 pm on January 15, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The ideas and stereotypes put forward by Montesquieu play a role in establishing non-European peoples as second class citizens, or somehow inferior humans. I think the implications of such thinking can be seen through the practices of colonialism, slavery and oppression that followed Europeans to “new” lands. Environmental determinism provided a rationale that allowed Europeans to justify their prejudices towards other cultures.
paige 12:20 am on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Stereotypes like these close minds before even arriving on the same land as the other people. If you think that the physical world shapes every man that lives in it you do not need to take the time to get to know any one individual, you already know what they are all like by looking at a map. These ideas built a divide between early europeans and non-europeans.
jenniefrench 1:22 pm on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with joni – the idea of the White Man’s Burden did come to mind. If other peoples are less “advanced” or “civilized” because of their climate, then it falls upon the “civilized” to “save” these others. That is a very dangerous and misguided idea. As we now are more familiar with, societies around the world were very advanced, even if they did not adhere to European expectations of “civil.”
I also think this kind of stereotyping is dangerous because it creates presuppositions before any real contact is made. Expectations are set in stone and then a lot of intolerance is created. This would have influenced how non-Europeans were treated by any Europeans. They would have been approached already judged and segregated as different and lesser. This would have made interaction and cooperation nearly impossible – especially as with these stereotypes in place the European intent was not to cooperate, but to coerce and conquer.
roypat 3:51 pm on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Although I’m echoing the comments of others in that many of these past stereotypes are misguided and have an impact on relationships between those of different cultures, I will also mention that there is evidence of climate and weather having an impact on someone’s demeanor, at least for a given day. i.e. People are generally more upbeat or cheerful on a nice, sunny day vs a wet, rainy day.
msmith92 4:06 pm on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with the same general idea that many have mentioned that Montesquieu’s ideas on environmental determinism lead to a feeling of superiority among Europeans. Because there was likely little knowledge on cultures outside of Europe, these ideas would have lead to the assumption that all other peoples were inferior, especially because these ideas were coming form a place of authority within their society. These eurocentric ideas worked out conveniently for Montesquieu because it gave him justification for why the French were the most agreeable people
Keaton Briscoe 4:41 pm on January 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with the other posts and Montesquieu’s view that people have different attitudes in different climatic environments. For myself, I sometimes find myself more upbeat and happy in general when the weather is nice, and more unmotivated and tired when it is raining and miserable outside. I have also read in a psychology book that people do suffer from Seasonal Depression.
katehaxt 8:57 am on January 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The Europeans exploreres who first encountered Canada’s First Nations people were generally very impressed by how they navigated the Canadian environment. Most exploreres found the Canadian environment harsh and inhospitable. For a long time the First Nations had the upper hand in terms of power dynamics because, with their canoes, snowshoes and fur coats, they prospered in an environment the Europeans floundered in. So in the beginning, and by those closest to them, the First Nations close relationship to their environment was something that was seen as powerful and admirable. Later as the power dynamic shifted the First Nations relationship to their environment contributed to the “noble savage” stereotype. They were seen as wlld, like the environment, innocent, like animals but inherently inferior.
congo96 6:04 pm on January 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
These types of stereotypes reflect the attitude of the european colonizers and slave traders. These ideas helped formulate a discourse which made it easy to claim superiority and view people who did not share their values as inferior thus leading to racism as different cultures came into contact.
sampethick 6:09 pm on January 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
People in this time hadn’t yet been introduced to ideas that suggested that people from different places and cultures can be much different but not necessarily inferior. I think that this kind of ethnocentrism can also be applied to environmental differences being discovered back when Europeans were first introduced to ideas about environmental determinism. This lack of knowledge and understanding came hand in hand with stereotypes and therefore actions towards non-Europeans. With regards to environmental determinism, what first comes to mind is what early Europeans thought about the clothes of some of the people they discovered living in much warmer places. I think that one of the factors in deciding that these people were so much less civilized had something to do with the simpleness of a tiny loin cloth and no shoes and how “barbaric” it was to cover so little, when maybe they were wearing so little because if intense heat and that’s all they felt was necessary, and covering up their bodies was not important in their culture. Maybe this lead to a stereotype of promiscuity or un-holiness , I don’t really know that… just a thought!
jlin 9:39 pm on January 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Implications of racial stereotypes that developed out of early environmental determinism include the superiority of the peoples who created such discourse and therefore the backwards, uncivilized and barbarianism that must be of all others of another place. Because the ideas were formulated on the basis of the environment, it meant it was natural and therefore, could not be altered. They were governed by solid laws. These ideas obviously had an impact on the action taken to non-Europeans. The power of discourse justified the subordination of non-Europeans through the systems of slavery and colonialism. If you are from outside Europe, you are inferior but that’s okay because the Europeans can “help” you if you become their subjects. This ethnocentric belief can be traced to attitudes even in the contemporary world…
phoebe 1:20 am on January 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree also with the idea that Montesquieu’s stereotype is highly similar to the “white man’s burden” excuse of colonalism. I also find his comments to be based upon the same reasoning used by Hitler of the Jews. By placing his theory under the supposed unbiased and rational treatment of science, Montesquieu’s theory of environmental determinism gains a more professional sense of fact and plausibility. Reading his statement centuries later, instead of the the unbiased scientifc face that Montesquieu is attempting to portray, his statement appears instead silly and irrational.
youngblutt 8:22 am on January 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think it is important to recognize that the attributions of Environmental Determinism to the subordination that occurred with European colonialism should not take away from the value of such an idea in the history of perceiving the world. Also, it should not be considered the only justification for ethnocentrism and colonialism in Europe. In fact, the notion is traced back as far as the 5th century “historian”, Herodotus and the 14th century historian, Ibn Khaldun. That European politicians reached deep into their bag of excuses to justify their exploitations shouldn’t condemn perspectives like environmental determinism as irrational in nature.
tsung18 10:34 am on January 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This stereotype is significant in that it seems like it has become an excuse and justification for Europeans to dominate non-Europeans. As in the past, we have learned that Eurocentric norms are above all and this perspective of environmental determinism further perpetuates that attitude of Eurocentric domination. Additionally, this early idea of Montesquieu creates the core (usually northern countries) and the periphery (southern countries) states. By having such stereotype, non-Europeans will all be labeled “hot headed and short on logic” therefore need the need the people in the temperate climate to rule and provide them with logic they lack. As aforementioned, the notion of environmental determinism is simply an excuse to further promote Eurocentric norms and attitudes into areas where the norms are considered unacceptable.
lcoulthard 10:08 pm on January 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This use of environmental determinism by Montesquieu reflects the development of the racial worldview that was going on as a precursor to the Industrial Revolution. This type of ideology helped Europeans justify things like the slave trade and colonialism. Early environmental determinism would classify groups of people according to things like temperature or rainfall, which cannot truly brand an entire population.
I believe that people do indeed become shaped by their environments, but things like temperature have a minimal effect. I think that a better example of how an environment shapes a person is in their culture – ex) their education, home upbringing, human interactions. If 18th and 19th century Europeans viewed environmental determinism in such a way, however, it could not have been used, at least in the same way, to justify racist actions. This form of environmental determinism may have been used to make poor environmental decisions also – ex) “This savanna is hot with not much rainfall, the trees seem to already have poor form as well so it won’t matter if we….”
midara 10:26 pm on January 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think the ideas proposed by Montesqiue imply the stereotypical image of non-Europeans being barbarian-like, which is much represented as non-logical and non-scientifically educated. The implication shows Europeans feeling superior over population living in warm climates, and somewhat disagreeing with population living in cold zones. As Montesqiue being perceived as Enlightenment thinker and philosopher, I think his ideas are representing the overall attitude of Europeans placing non-Europeans into the inferior position of human being while concluding such ideas as the result of natural selection (in this case, climate and environment). I think these early ides about environmental determinism have influenced much invasions and colonialization actions towards non-Europeans.
nytsuen 12:29 pm on January 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Europeans have always thought they were superior because they were ‘civilized’ and because of their advancements in the world. They always thought that they were in the center of the world which reminds me of mappa mundi maps. These were medieval European maps of the world and they seemed to believe that only Europe matters. Everything else that fell outside of Europe was not included; therefore, you don’t see North America, Africa or Asia in these maps. This is solid evidence to their ignorance of non-Europeans. Automatically, they think they are unimportant and uncivilized and Europeans thought that the only way to ‘help’ them was to assimilate them into their own culture and take over their land. This meant colonialism and even slavery.
yitailiu 12:50 am on January 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Stereotypes like these divide the world into separate parts and Montesquieu particularly draws a line between the Europeans and non-Europeans. This early view of environmental determinism created a narrow and biased view of the world, which that the human characteristics were only defined by the climate and geographic differences. Montesquieu’s ideas of environmental determinism placed “superiority” on the Europeans and had much influence on the European expansion of territory into other continents through colonization.
shalinb 9:01 pm on January 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
In regards to Montesquieu’s quote on stereotypes based on one’s climate re-enforces the views that european had towards non-europeans, especially in terms of colonization. In history, the has been a common theme of europeans being more superior to non-europeans. With regards to climate, when the settlers came to north america, they had to endure harsh winters which the natives of the land had already coped to. However, settlers saw the natives as inferior, and did not ask for their help in surviving the colder climate that they were not used to. Instead, they were more prone to diseases and hunger. Montesquieu’s quote states that people who live in colder weather have little sense, whereas people in warmer climates have a great degree of sense. This stereotypes supports the european settlers views towards the natives when settlers first came to North America.
erikaw 12:28 am on January 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I wonder if bold stereotype comments like this shaped the development patterns of todays world? Because today, for the most part, tropical climates are vastly underdeveloped and poor in comparison to temperate climates. Again moving into the colder climates of today there is little population and less development than the rest of the world. Do these patterns relate to some early ideas about the environment? That I’m not sure, but because this statement was said at a time where people rarely travelled I’m sure it brought opinion and probably egocentrism into many of Europeans (or other temperate populations) at the time.
natashap 8:50 pm on January 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The views that temperate climates were conducive to clear thinking and “good governance” no doubt furthered Europeans views that they had the right to control and rule over others. Environmental determinism could have also arisen as a way for Europeans to justify colonizing other regions – they “needed” the “help”.
brenden 3:51 pm on January 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
These type of stereotypes helped progress eurocentrism and created a very biased view of non-europeans. These stereotypes helped justify colonization, slavery and racism during this period of history. As others have mentioned, many europeans had not traveled outside of europe during this time and ideas like Montesquieu’s prevailed, shaping many citizens attitudes towards non-europeans.
eddietastic 7:45 pm on January 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The belief by many Europeans was one of The West VS The Rest. As a result, these stereotypes have created problems because of the lack of respect which some may have to those who are not european. This may lead to anything from colonization to war , however if atrocities do happen they they are thought of as justified and not wrong