Abstract
In this small essay, attention is drawn to the fact that the way people think and behave is influenced by the conditions of nature. Thinking has experience as prerequisite. In the cooler North, nature is differently perceived than in the warmer South. Consequences result thereof, in what regards how one understands and shapes one’s existence. The differences in mentality and life-style between East and West are largely culture-bound. In Europe as a whole, different conceptions can enrich each other.