The Empire of Climate: A History of an Idea

by David N. Livingstone

How the specter of climate has been used to explain history since antiquity

Scientists, journalists, and politicians increasingly tell us that human impacts on climate constitute the single greatest threat facing our planet and may even bring about the extinction of our species. Yet behind these anxieties lies an older, much deeper fear about the power that climate exerts over us. The Empire of Climate traces the history of this idea and its pervasive influence over how we interpret world events and make sense of the human condition, from the rise and fall of ancient civilizations to the afflictions of the modern psyche.

Taking readers from the time of Hippocrates to the unfolding crisis of global warming today, David Livingstone reveals how climate has been critically implicated in the politics of imperial control and race relations; been used to explain industrial development, market performance, and economic breakdown; and served as a bellwether for national character and cultural collapse. He examines how climate has been put forward as an explanation for warfare and civil conflict, and how it has been identified as a critical factor in bodily disorders and acute psychosis.

A panoramic work of scholarship, The Empire of Climate maps the tangled histories of an idea that has haunted our collective imagination for centuries, shedding critical light on the notion that everything from the wealth of nations to the human mind itself is subject to climate’s imperial rule.

Genres: History

552 pages, Hardcover

Published April 16, 2024

About the author

David Noel Livingstone is a Northern Ireland-born geographer, historian, and academic. He is Professor of Geography and Intellectual History at Queen's University Belfast.

Educated at Banbridge Academy and Queen's University Belfast (B.A., Ph.D.). Following graduation, he continued at Queen's as a Research Officer and Lecturer, becoming Reader and then full Professor. He has held visiting professorships at Calvin College, Michigan, University of British Columbia, University of Notre Dame, and Baylor University.

Reviews

[Muhsin Dogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Empire of Climate, David N. Livingstone presents an in-depth analysis of the concept of the "empire of climate" a notion founded by Montesquieu, which argues that climate determines human destiny. Objecting to the reading of history solely through meteorological data, the author meticulously examines how climatic reductionism has been used as a political shield throughout the historical process.

The book's strongest aspect is its emphasis on the methodological errors made in today's age of big data. Livingstone argues that confusing correlation with causation creates a dangerous narrative that reduces social events purely to the physical environment. He highlights that this deterministic perspective, which historically legitimized racism and colonialism within a "scientific" framework, continues today by shifting the responsibility for modern crises from humanity to the atmosphere.

Rather than denying the climate crisis, the author focuses on the risk that the "fatalistic" and "apocalyptic" reactions to this crisis might paralyze human agency (Marxist perspective). By positioning human beings not as helpless victims against nature, but as rational and moral agents, this work serves as an indispensable resource for any reader interested in the history of science, geography, and environmental philosophy.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

A clear bias towards climate determinism, multiple misuses of causal relationships. For instance, suggesting that eastern despotism and subjugation of women are determined by climate which lacks scientific basis and exhibits an obvious racial and cultural discrimination.

This is a book catering to specific interest groups, serves for agenda of ‘apocalypticism’ and devaluing humans even till the last sentence.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A skeptical — sometimes perhaps verging toward cynical — and extremely erudite exploration of theories of how climate shapes human life, from the distant and recent past. Only rarely explicitly about contemporary climate change speculation, but current concerns hover over the narrative, and this book provides very useful context for thinking about the future that is bearing down upon us.

[David Corbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

informative. historical.