Abstract
Since the end of the 19th century, the imperative of explaining the complex processes of the transformation of the societies drove the new social sciences to take on the scientist description of the characters and the National minds. This worry was according the nationalist and imperialist interests of the great powers as it gave them enough arguments to recognize their supremacy over other people and countries. Theories founded on fundamental and vitalistic principles were developed in order to explain the decline of the Nations and the Latin races and the superiority of some others. As far as Spain is concerned, the disaster which took place in 1898 had a transcendental impact in its international perception and reinforces the image of an important decline. In the country this situation drove a meditation about the own Spanish identity and several proposals on the rebuilding and the Europeanization of the country. In the article we show a further analyze of the work El espiritu economico en Espana (1922), written by the well-known social scientist of the University of Berlin, Mr. Alfred Ruhl, who was the person who introduced a new conception of the economical geography as a social science in Germany. His theories linked the people idiosyncrasy, not to primordial features but to economical customs and practices. One year after the publishing of the book in Germany this work was translated into Spanish. This article wonders about Ruhl's motivations as he had centered his study precisely in the Spanish case. The article also explains the reasons of the great deal of interest of the work in Spain. The article characterizes Ruhl's particular interpretation looking for references and countering other analysis made during the same period in Spain and in Europe.
Highlights
Since the end of the 19th century, the imperative of explaining the complex processes of the transformation of the societies drove the new social sciences to take on the scientist description of the characters and the National minds
As far as Spain is concerned, the disaster which took place in 1898 had a transcendental impact in its international perception and reinforces the image of an important decline. In the country this situation drove a meditation about the own Spanish identity and several proposals on the rebuilding and the Europeanization of the country
In the article we show a further analyze of the work El espíritu económico en España (1922), written by the well-known social scientist of the University of Berlin, Mr Alfred Rühl, who was the person who introduced a new conception of the economical geography as a social science in Germany
Summary
Alfred Rühl (Königsberg, Alemania, 1882-Suiza, 1935), estudió geografía, geología, historia y ciencias sociales, primero en Königsberg y Leipzig y más tarde en Berlín. En oposición a esta visión, Rühl defendió una fundamentación de la geografía económica en los métodos de las ciencias sociales, una “geografía del hombre”, que permitiera una mejor comprensión de contextos espaciales diferenciados. El objeto de esta geografía del hombre lo veía Rühl en la definición de la interna relación de los pueblos con su vida económica. En el prólogo de la obra que nos ocupa, Rühl propone un nuevo enfoque a las ciencias económicas, a la economía política y a la geografía económica, que ponga en el centro del análisis al sujeto de la actividad económica, es decir, al hombre. Que se inspira en los trabajos del sociólogo Max Weber sobre las vinculaciones entre la religión y la ética económica, parte de la premisa de la existencia de lazos estrechos entre el desarrollo económico en diferentes contextos geográficos y la existencia de diversos tipos de “hombres económicos”.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
