Lebensraum: Bio-geographical Signifier with Political-Geographical Signified?

Stogiannos, Alexandros

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-98035-5_3

Lebensraum: Bio-geographical Signifier with Political-Geographical Signified?

Alexandros Stogiannos²

Chapter
First Online: 30 October 2018

647 Accesses

Part of the book series: Historical Geography and Geosciences ((HIGEGE))

Abstract

In the previous chapter, especially the presentation of the essay The state as an organism, a first approach of Ratzel’s Biogeography was carried out, with the note by Ratzel that that dependence of man [on water and air] demonstrates the closer relationship expressed by Biogeography, which places man among the creatures living on land, where together with mammals, reptiles, beetles, and snails, he exhibits very particular conditions of expansion, namely similar volumetric analysis and an identical way of dependence on land, except, of course, that man is to some extent able to intervene and transform nature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 139.00; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 179.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
Ratzel, Fr.⁵⁸ (1896): Der Staat als Organismus, p. 619.
2.
Ibid., p. 623.
3.
Ratzel F.¹¹ (1909): Anthropogeographie. Dritte, unveränderte Auflage, p. 5 . See also Müller, G. H. (1996): Fr. Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler, Geograph, Gelehrter, p. 92.
4.
Classification according to the distinction of geographical areas by. I. Mazis, (2002): Geopolitics: Theory and practice, pp. 34-37.
5.
Ibid., p. 37.
6.
See. F. Ratzel, Ο Ζωτικός Χώρος, Προσκήνιο, Αθήνα, 2001.
7.
Müller, G. H. (1996): Fr. Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler, Geograph, Gelehrter, p. 83.
8.
Ibid., p. 92, Excerpt from Human Geography ΙΙ (1891), p. VI.
9.
The term holistic is geographic context and refers to all earth. Ratzel, Fr.^11a (1891): Anthropogeographie. Zweiter Teil, p. 59.
10.
Buttmann, G. (1977): Friedrich Ratzel. Leben und Werk eines deutschen Geographen, p. 13.
11.
Müller, G. H. (1996): Fr. Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler, Geograph, Gelehrter, p. 119.
12.
Ibid., pp. 134–138.
13.
Ratzel Archive, Κ 146, 4 leaves.
14.
Müller, G. H. (1996): Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler, Geograph,…, pp. 79–80.
15.
Steinmetzler, J. (1956): Die Anthropogeographie Friedrich Ratzels und …, p. 43.
16.
Βέργος, K. (2004): Γεωπολιτική των κρατών και παγκοσμιοποίηση, p. 65, Footnote 9.
17.
Steinmetzler, J. (1956): Die Anthropogeographie Friedrich Ratzels und…, p. 43, Footnote 216.
18.
Also confirmed by Müller, G. H. (1996): Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler, Geograph,…, p. 101.
19.
Steinmetzler, J. (1956): Die Anthropogeographie Friedrich Ratzels…, p. 43.
20.
Ibid., pp. 43–44.
21.
Mercier, G.: The Geography of Friedrich Ratzel and Paul Vidal de la Blache: A comparative Analysis, http://www.siue.edu/GEOGRAPHY/ONLINE/mercier.htm.
22.
Ratzel, F.¹² (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 114.
23.
Ibid., p. 114.
24.
Ibid., p. 114.
25.
Steinmetzler, J. (1956): Die Anthropogeographie Friedrich Ratzels und…, p. 26.
26.
Ratzel, F.¹² (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, pp. 136–137.
27.
Ibid., p. 137.
28.
Ratzel, F.¹² (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 128.
29.
Ibid., p. 150.
30.
Ratzel, F.¹² (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 151.
31.
Ibid., p. 137.
32.
Ibid., p. 134.
33.
See Sect. 2.4.1.
34.
Γκίκας, Σ.: Φιλοσοφικό Λεξικό, 7η έκδοση, Αθήνα 1998.
35.
Hans Driesch, (1876–1941) Biologist and philosopher, vitalist, accepts the existence of a secret animal power within organisms, which is not related to material factors. Follower of the biological teleology. As to philosophy he adherents inductive or scientific metaphysics. He studied in Freiburg, Munich and Jena Zoology, completed a doctoral thesis next to Haeckel, the relations to whom broke in 1891. Source: Γκίκας, Σωκράτης, Φιλοσοφικό Λεξικό, 7^η έκδοση, Αθήνα 1998.
36.
www.philosophenlexikon.de/driesch.htm#vitalismus.
37.
Oesterreich, T.K. (1921): Die Philosophischen Strömungen der Gegenwart, p. 383.
38.
See Sect. 2.4.1.
39.
Ratzel, F.¹² (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 137, pp. 114–115.
40.
Ratzel, F.¹ (1923): Politische Geographie, p. VII.
41.
Ratzel, F.¹ (1923): Politische Geographie, p. 26.
42.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, pp. 146–147.
43.
Ibid., p. 160.
44.
Ibid., p. 160.
45.
Ibid., p. 160.
46.
This is a clear influence from the Herder, who did not consider the individual, but the group as the smallest unit of humanity (PICHLER, 1998). Ditto in Political Geography, Ratzel considers family as the fundamental analysis unit.
47.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 147.
48.
Ibid., p. 147.
49.
Ibid., p. 147.
50.
Ibid., p. 158.
51.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 130.
52.
Ibid., p. 139.
53.
Ibid., p. 140.
54.
G. H. Müller (Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler, Geograph,… p. 92, footnote 53) remarks that Darwin had expressed very early such an approach, which Ratzel could know or assume, when writing in 1845 the botanist Hooker: geographical distribution will be the key which will unlock the mystery of species.
55.
Underlining by the author.
56.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 154.
57.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 154. At this point, Ratzel partially answers the 1896 question. See Sect. 2.4.
58.
Müller, G. H. (1996): Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler, Geograph,… p. 93.
59.
Ratzel identifies the terms living space and ecumene.
60.
Ratzel introduces here two benchmarks for the evaluation of the operationability and functionality of space, a quantitive (size) and a qualitative (structure). Speaking about the structure of space, he may be referring to both natural features and political organization See: Ratzel, F. (1901): Ο Ζωτικός Χώρος, Εισαγωγή Ι. Μάζη, εκδ. Προσκήνιο, Αθήνα, 2001, p. 36.
61.
Underlining by the author.
62.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 147.
63.
Ibid., p. 153.
64.
Author’s note: primary but not decisive.
65.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, pp. 161–162.
66.
Ibid., pp. 171–172.
67.
See Sect. 1.3.2
68.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 145.
69.
Ratzel, F.¹ (1923): Politische Geographie, p. 12.
70.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 128–129.
71.
Ibid., p. 128.
72.
He avoids again including human as an individual.
73.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, pp. 173–174.
74.
Ratzel, F.¹¹ (1909): Anthropogeographie, pp. V–VI.
75.
Ibid., p. X.
76.
Steinmetzler, J. (1956): Die Anthropogeographie Friedrich Ratzels…, p. 95.
77.
Ratzel, F.¹ (1923): Politische Geographie, p. 232.
78.
Ibid., p. 232.
79.
Ibid., p. 233.
80.
A very current analysis, considering the developments of recent years in the Balkans.
81.
On pages 100, 130, 112, 113, 119, 121, 125, 127, 128, 130, 131–132, 136–141, 145, 147, 149, 154 of the translated text (total page span, pp. 81 to 154).
82.
Ratzel, F.^12α (1901): Der Lebensraum – eine biogeographische Studie, p. 158.
83.
The view was first stated by Steinmetzler and later it was accepted by Müller.
84.
Müller, G. H. (1996): Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904): Naturwissenschaftler…, p. 112; Steinmetzler, J. (1956): Die Anthropogeographie Friedrich Ratzels…, p. 20.
85.
For the distinction between Naturvölker και Κulturvölker see Sect. 4.2.
86.
Steinmetzler, J. (1956): Die Anthropogeographie Friedrich Ratzels…, p. 44. Typical example of the above view is Ratzel’s formulation about German speaking populations living outside Germany, for who he believes Germans ought to be happy, because autonomously activated and productive parts of our national body have been preserved in Switzerland, in Austria and in the Russian provinces of the Eastern Sea. Those politically separated, but spiritually linked members live under totally different conditions; they think and feel in a balance different than ours. Whereas how much their political incorporation would reinforce us is questioned, it is certain that they would not enrich, but only render our German spiritual life more uniform. Ratzel⁹ (1878): Die Beurteilung der Völker, p. 198.
87.
As an example on the first chapter of Political Geography he talks about the biogeographic notion of state, without having prepared the reader about the content of Biogeography.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Faculty of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Alexandros Stogiannos

Authors

Alexandros Stogiannos
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexandros Stogiannos .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Stogiannos, A. (2019). Lebensraum: Bio-geographical Signifier with Political-Geographical Signified?. In: The Genesis of Geopolitics and Friedrich Ratzel. Historical Geography and Geosciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98035-5_3

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98035-5_3
Published: 30 October 2018
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-98034-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-98035-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics