Relation between Society and Environment!

Environment as the term itself indicates is anything that surrounds or environs us. Environment in this sense is made of all those things which though distinct from us affect our life or activity in some way. It consists of all surroundings and influences, whatsoever that are present whenever an event occurs.

It refers to those forces, situations, or stimuli that affect the environment from outside. Environment is thus not a simple but a complex phenomenon and consists of various forms such as physical environment, biological environment, social environment and supra-social environment.

The physical environment consists of the geographical, the climatic and the controlled geographical environment. The biological environment includes the plant and animals found all round man. The social environment consists of three kinds of environments— economic, cultural and psycho-social environments. The supra-social environment consists of the notions regarding God or supernatural power.

(a) Physical Environment: Physical environment is composed of those conditions that nature provides for man. It includes, according to MacIver, the earth surface with all its physical features and natural resources, the distribution of land and water, mountains and plains, minerals, plants and animals, the climatic and all the cosmic forces-gravitational, electrical, traditional etc. that play upon the earth and affect the life of man.

(b) Influence of Physical Environment: The physical environment plays a predominant role in determining the behaviour of the individuals and groups. So great is the influence of physical environment on human life that special studies have been made about this relationship since the times of Montesquieu.