UNIT ONE

THE SCIENCE OF GEOGRAPHY

1.1 The meaning of Geography
Science is defined as a body of knowledge that is systematized, organized,
experimented and verified. And Geography has almost all these
characteristics. Hence, it is a science.

Ancient Greeks defined geography for the first time by combining two
words “geo” and “graphic”

 Geo means earth and

 Graphic means writing.

Therefore, Geography is description of the earth. But, this definition seems

general compared to the current scope of geography.

Note: the first person to define geography was Eratosthenes.

Geography has no single universally accepted definition. The commonly

accepted one is” the study of the spatial distribution of both physical and
human made things and phenomena on the earth’s surface and two way
interactions and interdependences between natural and human
environments.”

All definitions of geography emphasize that geography is a spatial science.

In its modern context, spatial perspective is concerned with “where” and
“why there” questions.

There are 5 pertinent questions about the phenomena they study. There
are: 1. Where are things located?

2. Why are they located where they are?

 3. When did the things form?

4. What things are found where? And

5. How are they arranged?

The answer to the “where” questions are primarily descriptive in nature as

they try to describe the places

The answers to “why there” questions provide logical explanations as to

what factors determine the location of the phenomena in the places where
they are found.

The “how they are arranged” questions are primarily analytical because it
provides visual explanations of how the studied phenomena are spatially
distributed.

Note: Geographer named William Hughes explained that geography is a

science thing not of mere names but of argument and reason, of cause and
effect.

1.2 The scope of Geography

Scope refers to the extent to interest or focus in a certain subject. It refers
to the capacity and limits than an academic discipline treats.

Geography’s scope is very wide but it does not mean that it is limitless.
Generally the geo-sphere is considered as geography’s scope. The geo-
sphere is made up of 5 sub spheres, namely the lithosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere(troposphere), biosphere and antroposphere.
Geospheres Description Related area of study
Lithosphere The solid part(rock layers) Geomorphology, soil
geography
Troposphere The lower part of the Climatology
atmosphere where weather
changes occur
Hydrosphere The water surfaces Oceanography
Biosphere The part that supports life Biogeography
Antroposphere The earths cultural landscape Cultural geography,
population geography
1.3 Approaches of Geography
a. Topical or Systematic Approach
 It applies a specific geographical element or phenomenon over a
defined geographical unit.
 For example it takes a phenomenon and treats the distribution of
the selected element over a country, continent or the world at large.
Example: the geography of hunger, the geography of climate
b. Regional Approach
 It focuses on a region – a defined geographic unit or locality. Within
the region, the study examines a variety of geographic features.
 The region could be continent, subcontinent or countries that share
common factor.

Example: the geography of Africa, the geography of the Balkans.

Note: A region is an area or spatial unit consisting of similar or

homogeneous geographical features. The similarity could be physical or
cultural. The size of a region is a function of the study’s purpose.

Regions called micro are relatively small, and those called macro are
relatively large.
Note: The two approaches are not independent of each other. Instead,
these approaches are interconnected and overlapping.

1.4 Major School of Thought In Geography

The 1930’s, witnessed major radical changes in the discipline, and were
turning points in the history of geography

Historical note

 Alexander von Humboldt is geographer who traveled to South America

collecting data to identify relationships between the spatial
distribution of rocks, plants and animals. He emphasized on the
interdependence of people, plants and animals with the environment.
 Karl Ritter is the founder of regional geography.
A. School of Determinism
 It was dominant idea up to World War I.
 It bases its view on the idea that the natural environment is an
influencing factor on humans mode of living
 Determinists tend to focus on the impact of the physical environment
on people, rather than the reverse the influence of people on the
environment.
 It was laid by Greek and Roman scholars.
 “The Origin of Species” by Charles Darwin laid foundation for the
influence of the environment on people.
 Demolins also postulated that “the flourishment of the society is
based on natural selection.”
 Determinists consider humans as passive agents.
 The prominent scholars who supported the school of determinism
were Charles Darwin, Demolins, F. Rutzel, etc.
B. Environmental Possibilism
 It was postulated by Febvre.
 The supporters argue that human beings are masters of the
environment.
 It emphasizes that two- way relationships exist between humans and
environment.
 These geographers agree that the environment can potentially affect
people’s activities, but they believe that we can use our knowledge
and skills to regulate these effects.
 Nowadays, it is becoming widely accepted since it recognizes human’s
ability to change its environment using the latest.
C. The Quantitative Revolution
 The quantitative revolution was one of the 4 major changes. The other
three regional geography, environmental determinism and critical
geography.
 For centuries, geography had been primarily a descriptive science but
in the early 1950s, socio-economic, physical, and political features and
processes are spatially organized and ecologically related.
 It was founded by geographers and statisticians in Europe and US.
 With the aim of bringing “scientific thinking” to geography, the
quantitative revolution led to an increased use of statistical
techniques.
 The revolution was response to the challenges that geography faced
during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Some of the major challenges
were: - the shutting down of many geography departments

Example: Harvard University.

- The division between the human and physical geography

was continued demanding subject hood of human
geography.
- Geography was seen as solely descriptive and unscientific
- Geography was not useful to solve problems.
 - It was unclear whether geography was a science, an art, a
humanities subject or a social science.
 This revolution led to shift from descriptive geography to empirical
law-making geography.
 As a result, disagreement between scholars of different schools such
as those who supported quantitative methods and those who favored
the descriptive approach arose.
 Some of the techniques include:
- Descriptive statistics
- Inferential statistics
- Basic mathematical equations and models like gravity
models
- Deterministic models like Von Thunen’s an Weber’s location
models
- Statistical models, using concepts of probability
 This helped geography to be more law-giving science
 This process began in 1980s.
D. The Emergence of Applied Geography

Primitive human beings had a good knowledge of the geography of the

things that they needed for survival.

 It had its roots in quantitative revolution

Applied geography is the use of geographic analysis in private business,

government, non-profit organizations etc.

1.5 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEOGRAPHY AND OTHER

DESCIPLINES
Human geography is highly linked with social sciences, while physical
geography is related to the natural sciences.
 Biology: deals with all forms of life. As biogeography is the study of
plant and animal distribution, it is linked with biology.
 Meteorology: is the study of the earth’s atmosphere specially its
patterns of climate and weather. Hence, it is related to climatology.
 Geology: is the study of internal composition of the earth. It examines
the forces that change the earth’s structure. It is linked with
geomorphology and soil geography.
 Astronomy: is the scientific study of the universe. Topics about the
universe, in particular the solar system, that are taught in geography
are borrowed from astronomy.
 Economics: is the study of production, distribution, and composition
of goods and services. As economic geography is concerned with
economic activities, it is strongly related to this field.
 Political science: is the study of political organizations and institutions.
It is related to political geography.
 History: is the study of the past socio-economic and political processes
of human society. It is linked with historical geography.
 Demography: is the study of human population. Population
geography is somehow linked with demography.
 Physics: is the study of matter and energy and the effects they have on
each other.
 Sociology: is the study of origin, development, and structure of human
societies and behavior of individual people and groups in society. It
connects to cultural geography.
 Mathematics: is the study of the relationship among numbers, shapes,
and quantities. Mathematical geography is linked with this academic
discipline.