Friedrich Ratzel and his main ideas

At the end of the 19th century Friedrich Ratzel dominated the geographical scene of Germany. First of all, he was engaged in natural sciences, and the science of the Earth became a link between them and the study of man. He received his doctorate in zoology, geology and comparative anatomy, and became the founder of anthropogeography.

Ratzel Friedrich: Biography

Born in 1844 Ratzel was educated at several German universities. In 1872, he visited Italy, and the US and Mexico in 1874-75. He traveled to Eastern Europe and worked in the universities of Munich and Leipzig. The contemporary of Darwin was greatly influenced by the theory of evolution. Ratzel applied these concepts to human society. Before him, the foundation of systematic geography was laid by Alexander von Humboldt, and the regional one by Carl Ritter. Pashel and Richthofen set out the basic principles for a systematic study of the features of our planet.

Friedrich Ratzel was the first to compare the way of life of different tribes and peoples, and, thus, initiated systematic studies in the field of socio-economic geography. He experienced a keen interest in tribes, races and nations, and after completing field research he coined the term "anthropogeography", describing it as the main direction of the study of the Earth. Ratzel developed the geography of Ritter, dividing it into anthropological and political.

His organic theory of the state (vital space or lebensraum) gained wide popularity, in which he compared his evolution with a living organism.

Patriot of Germany

Ratzel, a scientist of versatile scientific interests, was a convinced patriot. At the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, he joined the ranks of the Prussian army and was wounded twice during the fighting. After the unification of Germany in 1871, he devoted himself to studying the way of life of Germans living abroad. To this end, he visited Hungary and Transylvania. He continued his mission, and in 1872, crossing the Alps, visited Italy.

Work in America

In 1874-75 Friedrich Ratzel visited the United States and Mexico, thereby expanding the scope of his research. In the US, he studied the economy, social structure and habitat of indigenous people and tribes, especially the way of life of Indians. In addition, he focused his attention on the Negroes and Chinese living in the central part of the United States, in the Midwest and in California. Based on his research, he attempted to formulate some general concepts relating to geographical patterns caused by the contact between aggressively expanding and receding groups of people.

Friedrich Ratzel: anthropogeography

In 1875, after completing his studies in the US and Mexico, he returned to Germany, and in 1876 was appointed professor at the University of Leipzig. In 1878 and 1880 he published two books on North America concerning her physical and cultural geography.

The book, thanks to which the German scientist became known throughout the world, was completed between 1872 and 1899. Friedrich Ratzel, the main ideas derived from the analysis of the influence of various physical characteristics and terrain on the way of life of people. The first volume of "Anthropogeography" is a study of human-earth relations, and the second - the study of its impact on the environment. The work of Ratzel was based on the concept that human activity is determined by its physical environment. In the work the author considers the geography of man in terms of individuals and races. In his opinion, society can not remain suspended in the air. Subsequently, he dispelled some determinism of his theory, saying that man is included in the play of nature, and the environment is a partner, and not a slave of human activity.

Ratzel applied the concept of Darwin to human society. This analogy suggests that groups of people must fight to survive in certain environmental conditions, like plants and animal organisms. This approach is called "social Darwinism." The basic philosophy of Ratzel was "the survival of the strongest" in the physical environment.

Propaganda of militarism

In the 1890s, he actively advocated the seizure of Germany by the Overseas Territories and the buildup of his navy capable of defying Britain. His ideas expressed the spatial consequences of the Darwinian struggle for existence. In accordance with the "laws" of territorial growth, in order to flourish, states must expand, and "the higher forms of civilization must expand at the expense of the lower". These laws were supposedly natural given the recent unification of Germany, the interstate rivalry in Europe (General Shliffen had already drawn up an invasion plan for France) and the growth of empires (Africa was divided at the Berlin conference in 1884-85). Ratzel's views met the territorial claims of the country. After his death and World War I, German geopoliticians revived the ideas of an anthropogeographer to satisfy his own ambitions and, as a consequence, his works were condemned by Anglo-American scientists.

The right to a living space

In 1897 Friedrich Ratzel wrote "Political Geography", in which he compared the state with the body. The scientist claimed that it, like some simple organisms, must either grow or die, and can never stand still. Friedrich Ratzel's theory of "living space" generated controversy about higher and lower races, arguing that highly developed nations have the right to expand their territory ("living space") at the expense of less developed neighbors. He expounded his views, saying that the expansion of the state by its borders at the expense of the weak is a reflection of its internal strength. The higher nations, ruling by backward peoples, fulfill the natural need. Thus, Friedrich Ratzel, whose geopolitics dominated Germany in the thirties, contributed to the unleashing of the Second World War.

Stages of development of society

Discussing the influence of the physical environment on man, the German anthropogeographer argued that human society progressed in stages. These stages are:

• Hunting and fishing;
• Hoeing culture;
• Farming;
• Mixed agriculture, in which farming and cattle breeding are mixed;
• Unmixed cattle breeding;
• Plant growing.

He, however, argued that it is not necessary that all societies pass through the same economic stages.

Unity in diversity

In those days, there was a tremendous increase in knowledge and information; The data came in large volumes from different parts of the earth. Each region, characterized by its own physical environment, differed in different ways of production and styles of life. Ratzel tried to build "a fundamental unity in diversity."

The German scientist has witnessed the emergence of a debate on the dichotomy between physical and socio-economic geography. Scientists such as George Gerald believed that this science deals with the study of the earth as a whole without binding to man. They believed that exact laws can be established only if a person is excluded from it, because his behavior is extremely unpredictable. Ratzel put forward a radical point of view, declaring physical geography a field of science in which man is an important element. He put forward the principle of unity in diversity, saying that in various environmental conditions a person has always adapted, and therefore, to fully understand the geographic envelope of the Earth, it is necessary to synthesize various physical and cultural phenomena.

Summing up, it can be said that Ratzel's works were fruitful, especially given the number of intellectual disputes generated by them on both sides of the Atlantic. The world view of the scientist, due to his teaching and scientific abilities, dominated for many decades.