Dr. Abdolhamid Noghrekar, Mohsen Dehghani Tafti, Mehdi Hamzehnejad,
Volume 22, Issue 1 (6-2012)
Abstract
the light of the Genius Loci theory. The theory has been verified in many studies by the traditional-Islamic philosophers. Proving
the closeness of these two viewpoints in extent and type of the environmental influences on disposition can open a venue for
applying the theory of Genius Loci to establish a basis for environmental design in regions with Islamic and traditional cultures.
This research traces the origins of this theory to the ancient Islamic philosophy. In the first step, the relationships between
environmental and cultural characters are explained in four climate-dispositional patterns using Christian Norberg-Schulz’s
theory of Genius Loci. The second step deals with the philosophical origins of the theory within the Islamic thoughts through
four patterns. Islamic philosophers have considered the types and the extent of climate’s influences on disposition and have
distinguished different faculties and behavioral affordances for various temperaments and four climates - “hot and dry”, “hot
and wet”, “cold and dry” and “cold and wet”. Temperament and the hot and dry climate have shown to be suitable for the
moral training of the mankind and assume the character traits of the God. The findings of the present study, the
phenomenologist’s ideas concerning the character type and environmental/cultural characters in different climates, and the
association of the environment and human, have over lapses with the theories of the Islamic philosophers.
