Which of the following is associated with synthetic study of man and his environment?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Ratzel
Option (1) Ellen C. Semple — Incorrect. Semple defined human geography as the study of the changing relationship between the unresting man and the unstable earth. Dynamism is the keyword of her definition.
Option (2) Ratzel — Correct. Ratzel defined human geography as “the synthetic study of relationship between human societies and earth’s surface”. Synthesis is emphasised in his definition.
Option (3) Vidal de la Blache — Incorrect. His definition also speaks of “a more synthetic knowledge” of physical laws, but its stress is on a new conception of the interrelationships between earth and human beings.
Option (4) Griffith Taylor — Incorrect. Griffith Taylor gave the concept of neo-determinism or ‘stop and go determinism’, a middle path between environmental determinism and possibilism.
Note: This question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 13-05-2026 (Slot 2, same), and in CUET (UG) 2023 on 18-06-2023 (Slot 1, similar), 12-06-2023 (Slot 2, same), 11-06-2023 (Slot 3, same) and 24-05-2023 (Slot 2, same).
NCERT (2026-27):
Box: Human Geography Defined |
