Explain the concept of 'neo-determinism'.
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Solution and Explanation
Neo-determinism, also known as "Stop and Go Determinism," is a geographical concept introduced by Griffith Taylor.
Step 2: Meaning
It acts as a middle path between two extreme ideas: environmental determinism (nature controls humans) and possibilism (humans have absolute freedom).
Step 3: Analysis
• The concept argues that there is neither a situation of absolute necessity nor a condition of absolute freedom.
• Human beings can conquer nature only by obeying its fundamental laws.
• Nature provides possibilities, but it also sets limits (like a traffic controller); humans can accelerate their development only when nature permits.
Step 4: Conclusion
Therefore, neo-determinism emphasizes sustainable development, stating that humans must develop within the limits set by the natural environment. Final Answer: It is a middle path concept introduced by Griffith Taylor, stating that humans can alter nature but must obey its limits, functioning like a "stop and go" traffic signal.
Top CBSE CLASS XII Geography Questions
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Hunting and Food Gathering
The earliest human beings depended on their immediate environment for their sustenance. They subsisted on: (a) animals which they hunted; and (b) the edible plants which they gathered from forests in the vicinity. Primitive societies depended on wild animals. People located in very cold and extremely hot climates survived on hunting. The people in the coastal areas still catch fish though fishing has experienced modernisation due to technological development. Many species, now have become extinct or endangered due to illegal hunting (poaching). The early hunters used primitive tools made of stones, twigs or arrows so the number of animals killed was limited. Gathering and hunting are the oldest economic activity known. These are carried out at different levels with different orientations. Gathering is practised in regions with harsh climatic conditions. It often involves primitive societies, who extract both plants and animals to satisfy their needs for food, shelter and clothing. This type of activity requires a small amount of capital investment and operates at very low levels of technology. The yield per person is very low and little or no surplus is produced.- Examine the role of climate, water availability, and soil fertility on the distribution of world population.
- Examine three stages of demographic transition theory.
- Study the map of Rhine waterways and answer the questions that follow:
- Explain the main features of National Highways in India.
Top CBSE CLASS XII Human Geography Questions
- Relation Between Humans and their Physical Environment
You are already aware of the fact that the core concern of geography as a discipline is to understand the earth as home of human beings and to study all those elements, which have sustained them. Thus, emphasis is on study of nature and human beings. You will realise that geography got subjected to dualism and the wide-ranging debates started whether geography as a discipline should be a law making/theorising (nomothetic) or descriptive (idiographic).
Human beings interact with their physical environment with the help of technology. It is not important what human beings produce and create but it is extremely important ’with the help of what tools and techniques do they produce and create’.
Technology indicates the level of cultural development of society. Human beings were able to develop technology after they developed better understanding of natural laws. - Explain the regional analysis approach of human geography.
- Explain the spatial organisation approach of human geography.
- Examine the concept of naturalisation of humans.
- Examine the humanistic approach of human geography.
Top CBSE CLASS XII Questions
- 2, b, c are in A.P. and the range of determinant $\begin{vmatrix}1&1&1\\ 2&b&c\\ 4&b^{2}&c^{2}\end{vmatrix}$ is [2, 16]. Then find range of c is
- A boy of mass 50 kg is standing at one end of a, boat of length 9 m and mass 400 kg. He runs to the other, end. The distance through which the centre of mass of the boat boy system moves is
- A capillary tube of radius r is dipped inside a large vessel of water. The mass of water raised above water level is M. If the radius of capillary is doubled, the mass of water inside capillary will be
- A circular disc is rotating about its own axis. An external opposing torque 0.02 Nm is applied on the disc by which it comes rest in 5 seconds. The initial angular momentum of disc is
- A circular disc is rotating about its own axis at uniform angular velocity \(\omega.\) The disc is subjected to uniform angular retardation by which its angular velocity is decreased to \(\frac {\omega}{2}\) during 120 rotations. The number of rotations further made by it before coming to rest is