Paul Vidal de la Blache
Topic: Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Human Geography: Nature and Scope"
Meaning
Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845-1918) was a French geographer. He saw human geography as a new way to understand the interrelationship between the earth and the people who live on it. He said nature offers many possibilities, and people choose among them based on their way of life. He called this way of life genre de vie, and he studied small regions called pays. His ideas are the base of possibilism. The word "possibilism" was coined by the historian Lucien Febvre, not by Vidal de la Blache.
Example
In the Thar desert of Rajasthan, people long chose camel herding to suit the dry land. Where the Indira Gandhi Canal now brings water, many have chosen to grow crops instead. The same land offers different possibilities, and people choose among them.
Don't confuse with
- Lucien Febvre: Febvre coined the word "possibilism" (1922). Vidal de la Blache gave the ideas behind it. Saying Vidal coined the word is a common exam trap.
- Griffith Taylor: Taylor's neo-determinism is a middle path. It is not full possibilism.