Some thoughs about the history of "Philosophy of History" /part 6/

According to Haldum, such is the population of Magriva, Syria, Sirikyazh, Yemen, the two Iraqi, India, China, and Naandalusia and the nearby Francs, Galician, Romans and Greeks. As for the other areas (2, 1, 6, 7), their inhabitants are far from moderation in all their life situations. They live in buildings of clay and cane, feed on grass, their clothes are made of leaves of trees or skins, and many of them continue walking and naked. Do not use the precious metals a, copper, iron or leather. Their mores are similar to those of animals. They are unknown to them prophecy and science, and do not have their own religious law. Such are, according to Haldum, the Sudanese, a part of the Slavs and all who inhabit the areas mentioned

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Similar views are advocated by Charles Montesquieu. In his work "On the Spirit of Laws" he again points to the climate as the main determinant of historical life, but for him the most favorable conditions for development create inexhaustible climates, the northern ones. The great heat says Montesquieu, weakens the power and hard work of the people, and the cold climate gives the body and the spirit a power that makes them capable of long, difficult and bold cases. That is why peoples living in warm countries tend to laziness and passivity, preferring to suffer punishment instead of forcing their spirit to work. For them, slavery is more tolerable than the effort of reason necessary to manage alone. But also the moderate climate does not provide enough opportunities for development. Being distinguished by his inconsistency, he also makes peoples inconsistent in their behavior, their vices and virtues. In this way, Montesquieu defends the special role and place of the northern European peoples in world history.

Other representatives of geographic determinism set the landscape as a determinant of development. the character of the inhabited area. Thus, when it comes to the question of the structure of individual societies, JJ. Rousseau develops the idea that it must conform to the features of the inhabited territory. If the soil is poor, he says, or the inadequate territory would most likely be to create such a device of the country in which the emphasis should be placed on the development of industry and crafts. For areas characterized by rich plains and fertile hills, Rousseau recommends that they focus their efforts mainly on the development of agriculture. For those peoples who inhabit vast, comfortable shores, the most appropriate occupation is the development of trade and shipping. And those who inhabited inaccessible rocks would do best if they remain barbarians and fishermen.