The Influence of Science, Technology, and the Environment In Diamond’s book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies” there is an in-depth discussion on the influence of science, technology, and environment on human beings.
Influence of Science, Technology, and the Environment
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The Influence of Science, Technology, and the Environment
In Diamond’s book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies” there is an in-depth discussion on the influence of science, technology, and environment on human beings. Diamond views human beings to have had a similar intelligence no matter the racial differences, cultural or geographical difference. According to the view of Diamond, all human beings have the same intelligence (Institute of Historical Research, 1998). Therefore, the belief that the whites are more intelligent than the rest is unfounded. In order to make and arguments, the author uses different scenarios to elaborate why the difference between the nations which are technologically advanced are where they are and why other nations are lagging behind in terms of science, technology, disease pools and environmental issues. Therefore this essay will be based on the analysis of the author’s book by a critical review on the author’s ideas based on the four areas mentioned above and the role they played in the expansion of the West and the making of a modern world.
Societies from books are discussed as being better than the other. The question which arises under such circumstances is why are some societies are better than the other. The author tries to explore this concept in details by exploring the possible solutions which end up making a conclusion that it is not all about intelligence but it is all about the role of culture and environmental contribution via the interaction between a person and the environment (Diamond, 1999). Diamond’s model investigates some of these questions by looking at some of the available evidence suggesting the need for a change in the perception of the developed nations and those nations which are underdeveloped or developing.
Expansion of Western
The author argues that the expansion of food production by the use of statements such as “large, dense and stratified population” (Martin, 2014). There was the need for the Westerners to produce more for its expanding population. As production increased in order to match with the increased population, the population also expanded and become densely populated. This explanation explains how the production of food is closely related to the expansion of the population that has made the place to be a densely populated area. Therefore, in this case, scarcity of food led to the human beings to evolve and produce more and with the increased production, the population increased hence the expansion of western societies
The expansion of the western is also depicted to as a result of the increased production of food that led to the development of dense populations. Diamond argues that the production of excess food from livestock and crops increased the immunity of human beings. This resulted in the increased resistance of human beings to diseases which were the major contributor to their declining numbers. This, therefore, increased the longevity of life hence the expansion of the western population.
The Making of the Modern World
On the issue on the environment, unlike many critics who are of the view that environment or geographical location is a single entity that determined the making of a modern world, the author argues that environmental impacts on the population by revolutionary form. In this case, the author argues that in the presence of the scarcity of resources the human beings have to adapt to the situation or they get extinct (Institute of Historical Research, 1998). Therefore, for the human beings to survive in harsh conditions, they have to develop a way in which they can sustain themselves. This lead to the development of for example genetically modified crops in order to increase the production of these natural resources (Diamond, 1999). However, there is a contradiction in this the dilemma of genetically modified food is considered. There has been a general feeling that GMOs should not be consumed by the human beings even though there has been a scarcity of food in the world. This, therefore, makes the critics to question the author’s reasoning that the scarcity of the adaptation to environmental changes by advancing in technology to be a fallacy that should be debunked from the public on the notion of Diamond making such unjustified statement.
In addition to that, the author makes an argument that the influence making of the modern world was influenced by evolutionary mechanisms ranging from the domestication of animals to crop farming. According to the author, the decline of wild animals and fruits led to the start of animal domestication and crop cultivation in order to ensure a continuous supply of food to the expanding population. In this case, the author does not argue that those who started crop farming and livestock keeping are any brighter. They are similar to the people from other places only that their resources depleted earlier than other regions leading to the development of agriculture. In other words, they could not have been any better if they could not have attained resource constraints like in the other parts of the world. To argue out this point in an evidence-based way, the author uses the example of the Mediterranean region which has a harsh climate could hardly accommodate wild animals and wild plants but produces more than the rest of the world combined in terms of food. This clearly shows that climate is not a factor in the modernization of agriculture.
As much as the author does not recognize that geographical location plays a role in the in the adoption of technology, Diamond agrees that culture plays a major role in the advancement of technology. To argue this case out, the author uses an example of an example of New Guinea to illustrate how culture plays a major role in the making of a modern world. The author provides an example of New Guinea in which when an aircraft landed there for the first time in history, people came out to see it for a short while and then went back into their farms to continue with their daily activities. This act of being unconcerned indicates that the culture of these societies has brought them up in a way such that they do not accept innovation in a quick way hence explaining the reason for the quick advancement in technology in other regions while others seem to be stagnant or at least have a slow adoption of technology.
Science plays a role in every aspect of man. Diamond, though a historian presents history in a hypothetical way like a scientific research. The author formulates both null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis in the investigations. Although this was not a scientific research, there are some proves that a science is involved in this study. The author discusses both sides of a coin. This is done by discussing both the ideas that resonate with the mind of the author and also those ideas which are against the author’s point of view. This makes the author more rational and helps in the adaption of new scientific research methods in the training curriculum of students. In this book, Diamond uses science to explain the importance of carrying out research in areas in matters to do with technology.
Conclusion
To sum it up, it can be noted that Diamond’s work is so nice. The explanation of the author about the issue in the presentation is presented in a logical manner. Matters related to science, technology and the environment on the role they played in the expansion of West and the making of the modern world.
References
Institute for Historical Research (1998). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Review of History. Retrieved from http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/51
Martin, S. (2014). Science and History According to Jared Diamond. Academia, Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/3182580/Science_and_History_According_to_Jared_Diamond
Diamond, J. (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. 1st Ed.Norton Paperback, New York, NY.
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