The first reading with Ibn Khaldûn's The Muqaddimah made interesting connections and observations that I didn't know had been made during that period. For example Khaldûn first organizes the path of the sun in the sky and how it in turn effects different regions of the planet. He then links this to the seasons and even to the nature of the differences in temperature between the equator and further towards the poles. While conjectures about the Earth being round and its relation to the sun had existed leading ancient Greek philosophers the connections Khaldûn made were impressive. I also found it interesting that he attributed the darker skin tones of those living in warmer climates to exposure to heat instead of religious reasons like the Noah's curse. Montesquieu focused much more on the how peoples were effected by the climates in which they live than the climate itself. He makes a number of conjectures, such as colder climates leading to more boldness and more temperate climates resulting in immorality, with loose reasoning seeming closer to ideas like phrenology. Montesquieu as compared to Khaldûn focuses on much more varied groups of people with comments stretching as far as China. This hints towards the much more connected world that had developed, particurally around Europe, in the centuries between Khaldûn and Montesquieu. Buffon's work, The Epochs of Nature, was the first to introduce the idea that humans can effect and change the climate around them. He began with his own brief summary of human history. He speaks about the conflict between humanity and nature, barbarism and civilization leading to the idea that past records indicate a different climate than what they were currently experiencing. He uses this to talk about how humans have the capacity to shape their climate to better suite their own needs. This was intriguing to me in that it indicated an understanding that the actions humans were taking did affect the temperature and conditions of the world around them, though of course in this work it was framed more positively as the adverse possibilities of this revelation were unclear. The final work from Alexander von Humboldt begins in a similar manner to Buffon's in that it speaks of the relationship between humanity and nature. Though, Humboldt takes a broader view in that he positions humanity as being superior in that it alone can comprehend the complexities of natural environment. He then delves into how 'less civilized' peoples connect natural phenomena to spiritualism while science seeks to demystify nature. Humboldt's work overall is much more philosophical than the other works in this reading as it discusses length the position of humanity and ignorance in relation to using science to make observations and discoveries in regards to nature and the universe beyond.