The anthropologist Jared Diamond uses the theory of geographic determinism to answer why some societies are more materially successful than others, in his book. According to him geographical causes are mainly responsible for societal development and responsible for different human civilizations developed in different ways. He provides evidence and reasoning that geography, immunity to germs, food production, the domestication of animals, and use of steel are main drivers for societal success.
Jared Diamond, the author of the book, respond to Yali’s question, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo … but we black people had little cargo of our own?”. Dimond interpret the question about global inequalities, that is, why have …show more content…
Hel also called the period between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago as “Great Leap Forward” Diamond calls the time of momentous change between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago the "Great Leap Forward" because human developed great mental abilities and learned to interact with environment. It was likely to occur at a single location before spreading across rest of world. Diamond reasoned that about thirteen thousand years ago humans reached all part of globe, which means that humans developed the mechanisms of conquest leading to global …show more content…
McNeill's review of Guns, Germs, and Steel, McNeill argues that some of the ideas that make up the supporting arguments of the book were misinterpreted. For example, McNeill points out that eighty percent of all humanity resided in the Eurasian continent. Therefore, it only makes sense that Eurasia was home to the most advanced societies. Then Jared Diamond should answer the question, “Why Europe is both the heart and mother of the world's most developed modern societies?” McNeill then goes further, claiming that Jared Diamond overemphasized the role of physical geography in the growth of societies. The review states that the author's argument fell short due to its lack of discussion about the role of culture and economics in determining the pace of progress. Jared Diamond failed to mention those factors that were “largely a human affair, determined by trade links, migration routes, and happenstance.” (McNeill 172). As I understand these arguments and ambitious goal of explaining the nature of societal dominance, I think we should do more research by including the other societies, like, India, China, Japan etc. to test the validity of arguments and identify the variables across geographic conditions and human generations which influences the development of societies by compare contrast the factors and building blocks of social developments. The current generalization is very interesting because it gives a new approach to study the social
Jared Diamond, the author of the book, respond to Yali’s question, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo … but we black people had little cargo of our own?”. Dimond interpret the question about global inequalities, that is, why have …show more content…
Hel also called the period between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago as “Great Leap Forward” Diamond calls the time of momentous change between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago the "Great Leap Forward" because human developed great mental abilities and learned to interact with environment. It was likely to occur at a single location before spreading across rest of world. Diamond reasoned that about thirteen thousand years ago humans reached all part of globe, which means that humans developed the mechanisms of conquest leading to global …show more content…
McNeill's review of Guns, Germs, and Steel, McNeill argues that some of the ideas that make up the supporting arguments of the book were misinterpreted. For example, McNeill points out that eighty percent of all humanity resided in the Eurasian continent. Therefore, it only makes sense that Eurasia was home to the most advanced societies. Then Jared Diamond should answer the question, “Why Europe is both the heart and mother of the world's most developed modern societies?” McNeill then goes further, claiming that Jared Diamond overemphasized the role of physical geography in the growth of societies. The review states that the author's argument fell short due to its lack of discussion about the role of culture and economics in determining the pace of progress. Jared Diamond failed to mention those factors that were “largely a human affair, determined by trade links, migration routes, and happenstance.” (McNeill 172). As I understand these arguments and ambitious goal of explaining the nature of societal dominance, I think we should do more research by including the other societies, like, India, China, Japan etc. to test the validity of arguments and identify the variables across geographic conditions and human generations which influences the development of societies by compare contrast the factors and building blocks of social developments. The current generalization is very interesting because it gives a new approach to study the social