Geographical Thought

Evolution of geographic ideas from ancient civilizations to contemporary paradigms.

Author

Geography Team

Official Syllabus

NEP-2020 Syllabus

NoteCore I Paper X — Evolution of Geographical Thought

**(4 Credit, Theory: 45hrs, Practical: 30hrs)*

Unit I — Geographical concepts of ancient and medieval period: Contributions of Greek, Roman, Indian and Arab scholars

Unit II — Modern period: Contributions of Alexander Von Humboldt, Carl Ritter, Ratzel, Vidal De La Blache and Mackinder

Unit III — Dichotomy and dualism in Geography: Environmental Determinism and Possibilism, Systematic and Regional Geography, Ideographic and Nomothetic, Physical and Human Geography; Recent Trends: Quantitative Revolution, Behaviouralism and Radicalism

UGC NET Syllabus

TipUnit IV — History of Geographic Thought
  • Geographic knowledge during the ancient and medieval period
  • Foundations of Modern Geography: Contributions of German, French, British, American schools
  • Conceptual and methodological developments during the 20th century
  • Changing paradigms in geography
  • Man and environment: determinism and possibilism
  • Area differentiation and spatial organization
  • Quantitative revolution
  • Impact of: Positivism, Humanism, Radicalism, Behavioralism

Geographic Thought (Paper II / Advanced Topics)

  • Contributions of Greek, Roman, Arab, Chinese and Indian Scholars
  • Contributions of Geographers (Varenius, Kant, Humboldt, Ritter, Schaefer & Hartshorne)
  • Impact of Darwinian Theory on Geographical Thought
  • Contemporary trends in Indian Geography
  • Major Geographic Traditions (Earth Science, man-environment, area studies, spatial analysis)
  • Dualisms in Geographic Studies
  • Paradigm Shift, Perspectives (Positivism, Behaviouralism, Humanism, Structuralism, Feminism, Postmodernism)

Welcome to the Geographical Thought module of Geography OpenCourseWare.

Part A: Common Topics (NEP-2020 & UGC NET)

These topics are covered in both the NEP-2020 undergraduate syllabus and the UGC NET syllabus.

Ancient and Medieval Geographic Thought

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit I — Greek, Roman, Indian and Arab scholars
UGC NET Ancient and medieval period; Greek, Roman, Arab, Chinese and Indian Scholars

Scholars by School — Quick List

  • Greek Scholars: Homer, Thales of Miletus, Anaximander, Hecataeus, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Hippocrates, Pytheas, Eratosthenes, Polybius, Hipparchus, Posidonius
  • Roman Scholars: Strabo, Claudius Ptolemy
  • Indian Scholars: Varahmihira, Brahmagupta, Aryabhatta, Bhaskaracharya
  • Arab Scholars: Ibn Hawqal, Al-Battani, Al-Masudi, Ibn Sina, Al-Idrisi, Ibn Battuta, Al-Biruni, Al-Balkhi, Al-Khwarizmi
  • Chinese Scholars: Zhang Heng, Confucius, Laotze, I Ching, Chang Chien, Huan Tsang, Chou Ta Kuan, Zheng He. The Song Dynasty is notably credited with the first use of the magnetic compass.

Greek Scholars — Golden Period

Greeks = ‘Golden Period’ of geographical development

  • Sexagesimal system — 360 days/year, 12 months of 30 days each
  • Algebra principles borrowed from Mesopotamians & Sumerians
  • Invented the first phonetic alphabets
  • Established port ‘Carthage’ on the Mediterranean Sea
  • Sumerians divided the circle into **360 degrees*

Homer (900–701 BCE)

  • Works: Odyssey and *Iliad
  • Named winds from four directions:
    • Boreas (North), Eurus (East), Notus (South), Zephyrus (West)

Thales of Miletus (600–500 BCE)

  • One of the legendary **Seven Wise Men (Sophoi)*
  • Believed Earth was a **flat disk floating on vast water*
  • First to state measurement of earth and location of things on its surface
  • Established mathematical traditions
  • **Six Theorems of Geometry:*
    1. Circle divided into equal parts by its diameter
    2. Angles in a triangle opposite two equal sides are equal
    3. Opposite angles formed by intersecting straight lines are equal
    4. A triangle inscribed inside a semicircle is a right angle
    5. Sides of similar triangles are proportional
    6. A triangle is determined if its base and two base angles are given

Anaximander (610–546 BCE) — *Cosmologist

  • Invented Gnomon (Babylonian instrument at Sparta): a vertical pole measuring positions of sun and celestial bodies
  • Produced a world map to scale — connected by Milesian school

Hecataeus (600–480 BCE) — *Miletus

  • Ges-periodos or ‘Description of the Earth’:
    • Part 1: Geographical information about Europe
    • Part 2: Dealing with Libya
  • **First to give two approaches in Geography:*
    1. Nomothetic Approach
    2. Idiographic Approach
  • Two-part map: Northern (Europe) & Southern (Asia) parts

Herodotus (484–420 BCE)

  • Father of History and **Father of Ethnography*
  • *“History must be treated geographically and geography must be treated historically”
  • Famously quoted: “Egypt is the gift of the Nile”.
  • First to state: **Wind moves from cold to hot places*
  • Calculated Earth’s age at 440 million years from sediment
    • 1 foot = 880 years; 158 km = 440 million years

Plato (428–348 BCE)

  • Master of Deductive Reasoning (general to particular)
  • Earth is spherical and located at the center of the universe
  • Works: Theaetetus, Letters, Critias, *Menexenus

Aristotle (384–322 BCE)

  • **Pioneer of Inductive Reasoning*
  • **First teleologist*
  • Described Torrid Zone (near equator) and Frigid Zone (polar) as uninhabitable
  • People of Earth lived between these two zones

Eratosthenes (276–194 BCE)

  • **Father of Geography*
  • Coined the word ‘Geography’ — ‘ge’ (Earth) + ‘graphy’ (describe)
  • Defined geography as *‘Study of Earth as the home of man’
  • Measured **Earth’s circumference*
  • Book: *Geographica
  • Created a **world map with correct distances*
  • Proposed Five Climatic Zones: 1 Torrid, 2 Temperate, 2 Frigid
  • Father of Geodesy — measured different latitudes and longitudes

Hippocrates (460–375 BCE)

  • Work: On Airs, Waters, Places — study of man–nature relationship

Hipparchus (190–127 BCE)

  • **Founder of Trigonometry*
  • First to divide circle into 360° (based on Assyrian mathematics)
  • Discovered the precession of equinoxes
  • Calculated length of the year to within 6.5 minutes
  • Compiled first known star catalog (129 BCE) — 850 stars listed
  • Introduced latitude/longitude method for location identification
  • ‘Climata’ — divided world based on latitudes
  • Invented Astrolabe — instrument to determine latitudes and longitudes
  • Stereographic Projection — flat plane tangent to Earth; lines extended from a point opposite the point of tangency
  • Orthographic Projection — projecting lines from a point at infinity

Posidonius (135–51 BCE)

  • Calculated Earth’s circumference (smaller than Eratosthenes’ estimate)
  • Tried to calculate Earth’s diameter through influence of the moon
  • **Father of Oceanography*

Roman Scholars

Strabo (64 BCE – 21 AD)

  • Work: Geographia — 17 volumes (8 Europe, 6 Asia, 1 Africa)
  • 1st volume devoted to development of geography
  • The Ekumene — zones of habitable world
  • Laid foundation of Chronological Paradigm in geography

Ptolemy (100–170 AD)

  • *“Geography was a science of the art of map-making”
  • Work: The Almagest — study of movement of celestial bodies
  • Guide to Geography — 8 volumes on map projections
    • Volumes 2–7: Latitude and Longitude
  • Accepted spherical shape of Earth
  • Accepted uninhabitable zone concept
  • Improved map-making through adoption of projections

Indian Scholars (Ancient)

  • Upanishads & Vedas — legendary geographical works
  • Ancient scholars focused on philosophy, cosmology, astrology, mathematics, medicine, linguistics
  • 1920 — Lahore: 1st Geographical Association established
  • 1924 — Aligarh; 1927 — Patna
Scholar Contribution
Aryabhatta Astronomy, mathematics; Suryasiddhanta
Varahmihira Astronomical works
Brahmagupta Mathematics, astronomy
Bhaskaracharya Advanced mathematics, astronomy

Arab Scholars (800–1400 AD)

  • Baghdad — centre of Arab geographers
  • Adopted and translated Greek concepts
  • Almagest (Ptolemy) → translated to Arabic by **Al-Khwarizmi*
  • Suryasiddhanta (Aryabhata) → translated to Arabic (landmark for Arabic astronomy)
  • Idea of 7 planets from Greeks: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

Circumference of Earth (Different Estimates)

Scholar Estimate
Ptolemy 24,000 miles
Al-Mamun 20,160 km
Al-Battani 27,000 miles

Major Arab Scholars

Scholar Dates Key Contribution
Al-Balkhi — Kitab-al-Ashkal — 1st climatic atlas
Al-Masudi 896–956 Kitab-al-Tanbhual-Ishraf; Kitab Muruj-al-Dhahab; Kitab-Akhbar-al-Zaman (30 vol); traveled Azerbaijan, Persia, India, Lanka, Egypt, Spain
Ibn Hawqal 912–978 ‘A Book of Routes and Realms’ — European countries and Caspian Sea
Al-Biruni 973–1039 Encyclopaedic work on India (Kitab-ul-Hind); used trigonometry and the height of a hill to determine the radius of the Earth.
Al-Idrisi 1099–1165 Correlated with Ptolemy’s book; world map
Ibn Battuta 1304–1368 Extensive travels across Asia, Africa, Europe
Ibn Khaldun 1332–1406 Social geography, philosophy of history

Social & Philosophical Foundations

  • Auguste Comte: Proposed that all societies pass through three developmental stages: Theological → Metaphysical → Positive.

Transition Period — Explorations & Discoveries

Explorer Dates Achievement
Marco Polo 1254–1324 Travelled to China; description of eastern world
Christopher Columbus 1451–1506 Discovery of Americas (1492)
Vasco da Gama 1460–1524 Sea route to India via Cape of Good Hope
Ferdinand Magellan 1480–1521 First circumnavigation of the globe
James Cook 1728–1779 Pacific exploration; Description regni Laponiae et Siam
Bernhard Varenius (Germany) 1622–1650 Foundation of General Geography
Immanuel Kant 1724–1804 General Natural History & Theory of the Heavens (1755); Critique of Pure Reason
  • Norsemen — Iceland (867 AD), Greenland (982 AD)

Foundations of Modern Geography

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit II — Humboldt, Ritter, Ratzel, Vidal de la Blache, Mackinder
UGC NET Foundations of Modern Geography; Varenius, Kant, Humboldt, Ritter, Schaefer, Hartshorne

Alexander Von Humboldt (1769–1859)

  • **German; Pioneer of Physical Geography*
  • Contributed to geology, botany, zoology, physics, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, history, climatology, geomorphology
  • Studied at Frankfurt, University of Göttingen
  • 1798 — Humboldt with French botanist in Madrid: daily observation of temperature & altitudes
  • 1800 — Expedition to Orinoco River
  • 1801 — Arrived at Colombia (Cartagena); climbed Chimborazo Peak (world record)
  • 1806 — Observed Vesuvius Volcano
  • 1829 — Invited by Russian Czar
  • 1845 — Kosmos published (4 volumes)

Key Concepts by Humboldt

  • ‘Continentality’ — temperature at same latitudes varies moving inward from coast
  • ‘Cosmography’ — divided into Uranography (descriptive astronomy) and Geography (terrestrial)
  • ‘Zusammenhang’ — concept of ‘hanging together’ (unity in nature)
  • Coined term ‘permafrost’ for frozen Siberian soil
  • Word ‘Climatology’ appeared after his work
  • Believed in ‘Unified Universal Science’ — encompassing physical, biological and social sciences
  • *“Man everywhere becomes most essentially associated with terrestrial life”
  • Pioneer of Causal Connection — unity of nature; inherent causality
  • All races of man had common origin; no race superior or inferior
  • **Last master of universal science*

Kosmos — 4 Objectives

  1. Definition and limitation of physical description of the world as a separate branch of knowledge
  2. Objective/empirical aspect of nature in scientific form (pantheistic nature)
  3. Action of nature on imaginative faculty → interactive nature studies through travel, description, poetry, landscape painting
  4. History of natural philosophy and gradual concept of cosmos as an organic unit

Carl Ritter (1779–1859)

  • A teleologist — strong belief in God
  • 1807 — Met Humboldt for first time
  • 1814 — University of Göttingen; 1820 — Professor of Geography
  • Believed in **empirical research*
  • Developed concept of **“Unity in Diversity”*
  • Work: Erdkunde (Earth Science) — 1817 to 1859; completed 19 volumes
    • 1st two volumes followed by history
  • *“As body is made of soul, so is the physical globe made for mankind”
  • Founder of **Comprehensive Model of Regional Geography*
  • *“The central principle of geography is the relation of all phenomena and forms of nature to the human race”
  • **First great opponent of ‘armchair geography’*
  • Method was deductive — deduces new conclusions from fundamental assumptions
  • Defined each continent with different race and colour
  • **Greatest contributor in field of Regional Geography*

Charles Darwin (1809–1882)

  • Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859)
  • Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871)
  • Influenced by Charles Lyell (Principles of Geology) and Malthus (1798)
  • Explored taxonomy, formation of atolls and barrier reefs, role of earthworms in soil fertility
  • Rejected the teleological concept of Ritter
  • Darwin contributed by making science more **empirical and inductive*

Dualisms and Dichotomies in Geography

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit III — Dichotomy and dualism in Geography
UGC NET Dualisms in Geographic Studies

Man–Environment Relationship

Eratosthenes coined ‘geography’ in 3rd century BCE; geo = Earth, graphy = describe

Key Thinkers on Man–Environment

Scholar View
Einstein “The environment is everything that is not me”
Kant Inhabitants of Torrid Zone exceptionally lazy and timid; Mediterranean people industrious and progressive
Humboldt Life of mountain people differs from Amazon Basin people
Ritter Tried to establish cause of physical variations in body and health in different environments
Davis Tried to incorporate causality into definition of geography
Fleure Man-environment studied from physical point of view in delineating human regions
Taylor Race, population, states and cities directly influenced by environmental factors
Hartshorne Determinist-possibilist debate was unreal and futile

Determinism

Platt (1948): *“Determinism refers to the idea that everything in human life is caused certainly by preceding events or conditions”

  • Humans considered as passive agent on whom physical factors work continuously
  • The level of development of history, culture, lifestyle of any social group is solely governed by physical components of environment

Historical Development of Determinism

Scholar Deterministic View
Aristotle Explained difference between N. Europe and Asian people via climate
Strabo Cold weather in Europe was reason for their bravery
Montesquieu Cold weather people are less strong but more courageous; hot weather people are weak and inactive
Carl Ritter Anti-human approach; laid foundation of determinism in geography
Humboldt Life of hill-country residents differs from plains people
Ratzel Supplemented classical determinism with Social Darwinism; state as organism
Ellen Churchill Semple “Man is a product of the surface of the Earth”
Ellsworth Huntington Climate and civilization; selective migration and selective survival
Griffith Taylor “Environment has set the limit of human development”; man can only speed, slow or stop development
  • Black (1986): *“Environmental determinism was at the center of one of the longest debates in the history of social science of geography”
  • Stoddart (1966) — Darwin’s biology played crucial role in establishing human’s place in nature

Criticisms of Determinism

  • Barrows (1923) — Geography should study man’s adjustment to environment
  • Sauer — Natural law does not apply to social groups
  • Peet (1985) — Cultural geography of Blache and Sauer failed to establish a comprehensive theory
  • Hartshorne — Geography must analyse relationships regardless of natural or social laws

Possibilism

Puts human at a higher level as an active agent; environment provides opportunities and man chooses from those possibilities

  • **Direct contrast to Determinism*

Key Possibilist Thinkers

Scholar View
Lucien Febvre (1932) “There are no necessities, but everywhere possibilities and man as the master of these possibilities, is the judge of their use”
Montesquieu Man possesses free will and ability to choose from opportunities
Comte-de-Buffon Man was ordered to conquer the earth and transform it
Vidal-de-la-Blache “Nature has set boundaries and provided possibilities for human settlement but the way a person responds…depends on the traditional way of life”
Brunhes “Nature is not compulsory but the approval”; human activity can change within bounds but never cross them
Barrows Geography should be studied from man’s adjustment to environment
Hettner Both physical and human factors to be studied in their relationship to each other
  • Roots of possibilism from Plato (master of deductive reasoning)
  • ‘genre de vie’ (Blache) — way of life; all activities, practices and techniques that characterize adaptation of a human group to milieu

Criticism of Possibilism

  • Griffith Taylor — Society should elect entirely; work is not of explanatory nature
  • Leaves unsolved question: why one possibility rather than another? Was choice free or necessitated by psychological, political or economic factors?
  • “Determinism may persist as a false guide in geography ever after environmentalism has been banished from the field” (Platt)

Probabilism / Neo-Determinism

O.H.K. Spate (1957): *“The physical environment does not specifically determine human activities yet it gives some reactions to others; human action was not said in the case of all on some kind of compulsion, but rather the balance of the possibilities”

  • After this, probability theory became an essential component of geographic analysis
  • **Cultural / Social Darwinism:*
    • Edward Wellman: *“The environment is essentially natural, its role depends on the level of technology, the types of culture and other characteristics of changing society”
    • George Carter: Cultural forces determine the human use of the physical world

Key Dualisms Summary

  • Physical vs. Human Geography: Study of natural environment vs. human activities — quest for integration.
  • Systematic vs. Regional Geography: Topical study of phenomena (Humboldt) vs. regional synthesis (Ritter) — Hartshorne vs. Schaefer debate.
  • Determinism vs. Possibilism: Environment controls human activity (Ratzel, Semple) vs. humans choose from possibilities (Vidal, Febvre).
  • Ideographic vs. Nomothetic: Study of unique cases/regions (idiographic is fundamentally descriptive, not a quantitative model-building approach) vs. searching for general laws/patterns (nomothetic approach is focused on producing general statements or laws) — Kantian distinction.
  • Qualitative vs. Quantitative: Descriptive approaches vs. statistical/mathematical methods — quantitative revolution.
  • General vs. Special Geography: Varenius’s distinction between universal principles and regional descriptions.
  • Resolution: Modern geography seeks integration — human-environment systems, mixed methods.

Paradigm Shifts and Perspectives in Geography

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
NEP-2020 Unit III — Quantitative Revolution, Behaviouralism, Radicalism
UGC NET Paradigm Shift; Positivism, Behaviouralism, Humanism, Structuralism, Feminism, Postmodernism
Kuhn (1962) Pre-paradigm phase: The initial phase in the development of a science when several schools of thought compete for dominance.

Quantitative Revolution

Began in 1950s and 1960s; replaced idiographic approach; based on **nomothetic approach*

  • Laid basis of geography as a spatial science dealing with spatial analysis
  • Gave geography a scientific vision through statistical methodology

Key Objectives

  1. Change narrative character of geography → make it a scientific discipline (geo + physics)
  2. Explain and interpret spatial patterns in a logical, objective manner
  3. Use mathematical and statistical techniques
  4. Make accurate statements about location order
  5. Prepare estimates, principles and laws for testing and forecasts
  6. Provide sound philosophical and theoretical base to geography
  • Working (Empirical) hypothesis: A hypothesis which is provisionally accepted as a basis of further research.

Key Scholars

  • Burton — *“This school had set out to discover universals, to build models and to establish methods and theoretical base on which geographical realities could be created”
  • Schaefer — Proposed nomothetic geography (laws and generalisation)
  • Chorley & Haggett — Models and location analysis

Dichotomies of Quantitative Revolution

  • Measurement by instruments vs. direct sensed data
  • Rational analysis vs. intuitive perception
  • Cold scientific constructs vs. rich daily sensed experience from the real world
  • Constantly changing phenomena vs. direct discrete cases
  • **Nomothetic vs. Idiographic*

Behaviouralism in Geography

  • Concerned with decision-making processes of individuals and groups in space
  • Kirk — coined the concept of behaviouralism in geography
  • Mental Map — Gould & White + Lynch
  • Human action influenced by perceived environment rather than real environment
  • Introduced concepts of imageability, *cognitive mapping

Positivism

  • Logical positivism — objective, empirical, value-free science relying heavily on hypothesis testing.
  • Relies on the formal construction of theories capable of empirical verification.
  • Scientific method applied in geography
  • Foundation for the Quantitative Revolution; utilized the A Posteriori model (a model developed from observed regularities using an inductive approach).

Humanism (1970s)

  • Reaction against positivism — focus on lived experience, place, meaning. Does not rely on positivist or Marxist methodology.
  • Key scholars: Yi-Fu Tuan, **Edward Relph*
  • Topophilia: Affective ties between people and place.
  • Phenomenology: Differential perception or impression of a geographical event.
  • Philosophical roots in phenomenology and existentialism

Radicalism / Marxism (1970s)

  • Sequence: Radicalism appeared as a sequel to Behaviouralism in the development of geographical thought.
  • Social justice, inequality, class structure, political economy
  • Key scholars: David Harvey, **Richard Peet*
  • Spatial analysis of capitalism

Empiricism

  • The philosophical view that all knowledge originates in experience.
  • Primarily associated with John Locke and David Hume.

Structuralism

  • Underlying structures shaping spatial patterns — Lévi-Strauss, Althusser influence

Feminism

  • primarily studies how gender influences spatial patterns and human interactions with environments.
  • Studies in feminist geography often use qualitative methods to capture women’s lived experience in spaces.
  • Notable Feminist Geographers: Doreen Massey, Gillian Rose, Susan Manson. Note that Marjorie Sweeting (Karst geomorphologist) is NOT a feminist geographer.

Postmodernism

  • Rejection of grand theories, multiple truths, deconstruction, fragmentation.
  • Basic Tenets: Spatiality, volatility, and pluralism.
  • Guiding Principle: Simultaneity.
  • Fallibilism: The idea that knowledge is subject to scrutiny and no belief or theory is absolutely certain.
  • Practical heterology: Disorder, chaos, and difference.
  • Key scholars: Soja, **Dear*

Philosophy and Guiding Principles Matching

  • Modernism: Sequential analysis
  • Structuralism: Mode of production
  • Post-structuralism: Code of production
  • Postmodernism: Simultaneity

Part C: UGC NET Specific Topics

These topics are part of the UGC NET syllabus only.

National Schools of Geography

Warning📘 Syllabus Coverage
Syllabus Topic Details
UGC NET Contributions of German, French, British, American schools
Mapping Institutions National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO): Set up in 1956 for publishing thematic maps of India.

Contributor Matching (Concepts)

  • Humanistic Geography: Yi-Fu Tuan
  • Social Space: Chombart de Lauwe
  • Post-Modernism: Michel Foucault
  • Radicalism in Geography: Richard Peet

German School of Geographical Thought

Oscar Peschel (1826–1875)

  • Professor at University of Leipzig
  • ‘Das Ausland’ — periodical on geography of foreign countries
  • Laid foundation of **Modern Physical Geography*
  • Primarily concerned with study of **Landforms*
  • Work: New Problems of Comparative Geography as a Search for Morphology of Earth Surface (1870)

Ferdinand Von Richthofen (1833–1905)

  • Trained as geologist; field studies in China, California
  • Taught at Bonn, Leipzig and Berlin
  • **Founder of Modern Geomorphology*
  • *“The purpose of geography is to focus attention on the diverse phenomena that occur in interrelation on the face of Earth”
  • First German scholar to differentiate **General vs. Regional Geography*
  • Different methods for study of areas of different sizes:
    • Endteile — major divisions of the world
    • Lander — major regions
    • Landschaften — landscape / small region
    • Örtlichkeiten — localities

Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904)

  • Trained in Zoology and Geology at Munich
  • **Universally recognised as the Founder of Human Geography*
  • Visited Italy (1872), USA and Mexico (1874–75), Europe
  • Taught at Munich and Leipzig
  • Known for Darwin’s biological concepts in Human Geography
Key Works
Work Year Key Content
Anthropogeographie 1882 (Vol. 1) Study of man-Earth relationship; field study of tribes, races and nations
Anthropogeographie (Vol. 2) Influence of man on environment; environment-dominated approach
North America 1880 Physical and cultural geography
Political Geography 1897 State as organism; Lebensraum
Key Concepts by Ratzel
  • ‘Anthropogeography’ — coined the term; further subdivided into Anthropogeography and Political Geography
  • ‘Lebensraum’ (Living Space) — Organic Theory of State; applied Darwin’s biological concepts to human societies = Social Darwinism.
  • Sex vs Gender: In modern geographic thought, the biological view of sex and the social view of gender are distinct concepts.
  • Basic philosophy: “Survival of the fittest” in a physical environment
  • *“Similar location leads to similar mode of life”
  • Progress of human society: (1) Hunting/fishing → (2) Hoe culture → (3) Crops cultivation → (4) Mixed farming → (5) Unmixed herding → (6) Horticulture
  • Disciple: **Ellen Churchill Semple*

Alfred Hettner (1859–1941)

  • Pupil of Richthofen and Ratzel; taught at Leipzig
  • Work: Europe (1907)
  • Supported Strabo’s view — geography as a **chorological science*
  • Chorological Concept: Geographer must study both immaterial (race, ethnicity, religion, language, customs) and material phenomena
  • *“Geography is a field in which things have to be described in their areal context…much as history considers things in their time context”
  • Claimed geography is idiographic (regional) rather than nomothetic (systematic)
  • Advocated: *“Unity of geography is in method”
  • Study of relationship should be from ‘man to nature’ rather than ‘nature to man’
  • Landschaftskunde — Landscape Science concept; existing landscape = result of exogenetic, historical and cultural forces

Albrecht Penck (1858–1945)

  • Formulated concept of **‘Geomorphology’*
  • Professor of Physical Geography at Vienna (1885); Berlin (1906–26)
  • Associated with Eduard Suess — maps of major geological regions
  • First postulated: *‘Evaporation increases with higher temperature’
  • Considered man as an important agent who carves out the face of the Earth
  • ‘Gestalt’ — term borrowed from psychology in geography; to express unified form of larger areas
  • *“Geography is a bridge between natural and social science”

Walther Penck

  • Introduced alternative theory of landform evolution to Davis
  • Concept: parallel slope retreat and piedmont benchlands

Alfred Wegener

  • Proposed Displacement / Continental Drift Hypothesis (1912)
  • Professor of Meteorology, University of Graz

Gerhard Schott

  • Studied motion, temperature, salinity, colour, ocean deposits, ocean climate, geological structure of ocean basins, ocean organisms, ocean trade routes and air routes over ocean

French School of Geographical Thought

Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845–1918)

  • **Founder of Human Geography in France*
  • Taught at University of Nancy (1872–77), Écoles Normales (1891), University of Sorbonne (Paris — 26 years)
  • Periodical: *Annales de Géographie
  • 1894 — Atlas Générale Vidal-Lablache (1st vol.)
  • ‘Possibilism’ — from 2nd volume of Anthropogeographie; advocated concept postulated by Febvre
  • *“Nature is never more than an advisor”
  • Coined concept of ‘genre de vie’ (life style/way of life)
    • Complex of institutions, traditions, attitudes, purposes and technical skill of people
  • ‘Pays’ — homogenous regions in France
  • Works: Tableau de la France (or Tableau de la Geographie de la France), Human Geography (1921, completed by Emmanuel de Martonne)
  • Endorsed by Lucien Febvre: *“There are no necessities but everywhere possibilities”
  • *“Man is the most adaptable and mobile organism on the face of the Earth”
  • **‘Regional geography — the core of geography’*
  • Principle of Terrestrial Unity — dominant idea in all geographical processes
  • Influences: Vidal de la Blache was notably influenced by Friedrich Ratzel’s Anthropogeography while articulating his ideas of Possibilism.
  • After his death: 16 departments of geography in France occupied by his pupils
  • **Father of Human Geography (France)*

Jean Brunhes (1869–1930)

  • Disciple of Vidal-de-la Blache
  • Work: Géographie Humaine (1910)
  • Limited human geography to:
    1. Unproductive occupation of soil
    2. Things connected with conquest of plant and animal worlds
    3. Destructive economy — ‘robber economy’ or violent attack on nature
  • **Two principles:*
    • Principle of Activity — physical and cultural phenomena are in perpetual change; studied temporally
    • Principle of Interaction — geographical phenomena (physical and social) are closely interrelated; studied in all their combinations

Elisée Reclus (1830–1905)

  • Student of Ritter; most successful
  • Supported 1848 revolution; leading promoter of anarchism; friend of **Mikhail Bakunin*
  • Taught at New University of Brussels in his last years
  • Works:
    • La Terre (1868) — Systematic physical geography.
    • Nouvelle Géographie Universelle (1875–94) — 19 volumes; best known work
    • L’Homme et la Terre (1905–08) — social geography; historical account of humanity’s life on Earth
  • *“The Ritter of France”
  • *“Man is not the product of his environment but an important part of it”
  • Close friend of **Patrick Geddes*

Emmanuel de Martonne (1873–1955)

  • Pupil and son-in-law of Vidal-de-la Blache
  • Specialised in physical geography; studied glacial erosion of the Alps
  • 1904 — Impressed W.M. Davis at the 8th International Geographical Congress
  • Works: Traité de Géographie Physique, *La France Physique
  • Completed Human Geography (1921) of Blache

Albert Demangeon (1872–1940)

  • Pupil of Vidal-de-la Blache; started as school teacher at Picardy
  • Monograph: La Picardie et les Régions Voisines — highly appreciated
  • Appointed at University of Lille
  • Major contributions to spatial variations of farmsteads
  • Contributed to editing *Annales

British School of Geographical Thought

Halford J. Mackinder (1861–1947)

  • **Founder of British School of Geography*
  • First person to climb **Mt. Kenya*
  • 1887 — Appointed Professor of Geography at Oxford University
  • *“The subject had to bridge the natural science and humanities and take as its core ‘the interaction of man in society and environment varies locally’”
  • Supporter of **Environmental Determinism*
  • 1904 — Concept of ‘The Geographical Pivot of History’ → **Heartland Theory*
    • “World Island” = Eurasia + Africa > *“Who rules East Europe, commands the Heartland; > Who rules Heartland, commands the World Island; > Who rules the World Island, commands the World.”
  • Works:
    • Britain and British Seas (1902) — classic in modern British literature
    • Democratic Ideals and Reality (1919) — world power politics

Patrick Geddes

  • Concepts: ‘Place, Work and Folk’ — basic concepts in study of cities and regions
  • Founder of **‘La Play Society’*
  • With strong overtones of environmental determinism
  • Society disbanded in 1960 after 71 major field surveys and 8 major monographs

Andrew J. Herbertson

  • Helped Geddes present a scheme of division of the world into natural regions based on surface features, climate and vegetation

H. Robert Mill

  • Realm of Nature — discusses races of man
  • Appointed director of British Rainfall Organisation (1901)
  • *General Geography

Economic Geography (British)

  • Chisholm → *Handbook of Commercial Geography
  • W. Smith → Economic Geography of Britain (1949) — systematic investigation of regional variation of economies
  • L.D. Stamp → started preparing land use map of Britain (1930)
  • Buchanan → *Pastoral Industries of New Zealand

American School of Geographical Thought

William Morris Davis (1850–1934)

  • Born in Philadelphia; studied at Harvard (1869)
  • 1870–73 — Argentina Meteorological Observatory
  • 1899 — Professor of Geography
  • **Founder of AAG (American Association of Geographers) — 1904*
  • 1877 — Observing Montana → concept of ‘Cycle of Erosion’ (Geomorphic Cycle / Topographical Cycle)
    • Presented at IGC (International Geographical Congress) 1899
  • Students: Mark Jefferson, Isaiah Bowman, Ellsworth Huntington, Ellen Churchill Semple, Albert Brigham
  • Ontography — ecological study of human groups
  • Critic of human geography

Mark Jefferson (1863–1949)

  • Studied with W.M. Davis
  • **Founder of real man-oriented geography*
  • Coined: ‘Laws of Primate City’, ‘Civilizing Rails’, **‘Central Places’*
  • Concern was with men: ‘where they are’, ‘what they are like’, ‘why they are there’

Ellen Churchill Semple (1863–1932)

  • Foremost female geographer and **leading exponent of Environmental Determinism*
  • Pupil and follower of Ratzel
  • Works:
    • Influences of Geographic Environment (1911)
    • American History in its Geographic Condition (1903) — sometimes cited as American History and its Conditions.
  • *“Man is a product of the surface of the earth”
  • *“Location means climate and plant life at one end of the scale, civilization and political status at the other”
  • “Which was first, geography or history?” (Kant) → *“Geography lies at the basis of history”
  • R. J. Johnston: Wrote Geography and Geographers.
  • D. M. Smith: Wrote Social Justice and the City.
  • David Harvey: Wrote The Urban Experience.
  • Robert Park: Urban Ecology.
  • J. Q. Stewart: Social Physics.
  • Peter Haggett: Wrote Geography: A Global Synthesis.
  • Griffith Taylor: Proposed the Migration Zone Theory.

Ellsworth Huntington (1876–1947)

  • Pupil of Davis; environmental deterministic
  • Explained style of life in light of weather and climatic conditions
  • Work: Pulse of Asia (1907) — Mongol conquest explanation through climate
  • Civilization and Climate (1915) — civilizations develop only in regions of stimulating weather
  • Principles of Human Geography — popular work
  • Gave too much weight to **physical factors (especially climate)*

Albert Perry Brigham (1855–1932)

  • Interested in geology and geomorphology
  • Helped run AAG
  • Against vague assertions of climatic influence on social character and skin color

Carl O. Sauer (1889–1975)

  • University of California (most of his life)
  • Rejected environmental determinism of Ratzel & Semple
  • Contributed to origin of agriculture, diffusion of plants and animals, impact of conquest on indigenous American societies
  • Princeton Symposium (1955) — *‘Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth’
  • Introduced ‘Landscape’ concept — The Morphology of Landscape (1925)
  • *“Geography dissociates itself from geology at the point of introduction of man into the areal scene”
  • Cultural landscape consists of:
    • General geography — study of form/elements (today: systematic geography)
    • Regional geography — comparative morphology
    • Historical geography — development in sequence / sequent occupance
  • Aesthetic of landscape: Humboldt used physiognomy; Banse — ‘soul’; Volz — ‘rhythm’; Gradmann — *‘harmony’

Rollin D. Salisbury (1858–1922)

  • Established **Dept. of Geography at Chicago University*
  • Rejected ideas of Semple
  • Work: Physiography — evolution of landforms

Harlan Barrows (1877–1960)

  • **Founder of Human Ecology*
  • “Geography as Human Ecology” — geography should be studied from man’s adjustment to natural environment

Richard Hartshorne

  • Tried to answer the determinist-possibilist debate
  • Stated: the whole debate was “unreal and futile” — led debate to philosophical rather than empirical level
  • Geography must analyse relationships of earth features regardless of whether they can be described in terms of ‘natural laws’ or ‘social laws’

Soviet / Russian School of Geographical Thought

  • Humboldt’s geographical information guided eastward expansion of Russian Empire
  • Imperial Geographical Society of Russia (1845) — to promote geology, meteorology, hydrology, anthropology, archaeology
  • GOSPLAN — State Planning Commission (1921) divided country into 21 regions

Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921)

  • **Founding thinker of anarchism*
  • Contributed to physical geography of northern Europe and Siberia
  • Prepared theories of geographical education, relations between humanity and nature
  • Strongly opposed **Darwin’s Origin of Species*
  • Attacked Social Darwinism; influenced by philosopher **Herbert Spencer*
  • Stressed role of cooperation and mutual aid in organic evolution and peasant society
  • ‘General Law of Evolution’: all evolution is characterised by concentration, differentiation and determination

V.V. Dokuchaiev (1846–1903)

  • **First professor of geography in Russia*
  • Pioneering work in field of **Soil Geography*
  • Different soils identified by looking at layers/horizons
  • *“Soil reflects the extraordinarily complex interaction of climate, slope, plants and animals with the parent material”

Marx & Lenin (Geographical Philosophy)

  • Marx — geography was the necessary foundation for design of a new kind of economy
  • Lenin — most important product of geographical study was identification of rational regions for the new national economy; geography as essentially an applied subject

Soviet Geographers (20th Century)

  • Anuchin — Theoretical Problems of Geography; against dichotomy of physical and economic geography; geography with regional approach to delineate terrestrial complexes
  • Gerasimov — Landscape science inadequate for constructive geography; interest in concept of terrestrial industrial landscape

Major Geographic Traditions

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UGC NET Major Geographic Traditions (Earth Science, man-environment, area studies, spatial analysis)

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NoteKey Concepts
  • Earth Science Tradition: Physical geography — geomorphology, climatology, biogeography. Study of Earth systems and processes.
  • Man-Environment Tradition: Ecological tradition — human-environment interaction, environmental perception, resource management.
  • Area Studies (Regional) Tradition: Regional geography — areal differentiation, regional synthesis, chorological approach (Hettner, Hartshorne).
  • Spatial Analysis Tradition: Spatial patterns, distributions, and interactions — quantitative methods, location theory, spatial modelling.
  • Pattison’s Four Traditions (1964): Framework for understanding geography’s multifaceted nature.
  • Integration: Modern geography increasingly integrates all traditions through geospatial technology, systems thinking, and interdisciplinary approaches.

Impact of Darwinian Theory on Geographical Thought

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UGC NET Impact of Darwinian Theory on Geographical Thought

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NoteKey Concepts
  • Evolutionary Theory and Geography: Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) profoundly influenced geographic thinking.
  • Environmental Determinism: Ratzel’s application of Darwinian ideas — natural selection in human-environment relations. Semple’s “Influences of Geographic Environment.”
    • Darwinism influenced environmental determinism by suggesting that natural environments shape human societies (rather than societies evolving independently).
  • Social Darwinism: Misapplication of evolutionary theory to justify racial and cultural hierarchies in geography.
  • Biogeography: Darwin’s observations (Galápagos finches) → island biogeography, species distribution patterns, zoogeographic regions.
  • Landscape Evolution: Davis’s geomorphic cycle influenced by evolutionary stage concept — youth, maturity, old age.
  • Reaction and Critique: Possibilism (Febvre) and probabilism as reactions against rigid deterministic interpretations of Darwinism.

Geography in India

  • British School had more influence on Indian geography
  • James & Martin (1972) — *“The new geography was transmitted from Great Britain”

Key Institutions (Timeline)

Year Institution Location Focus
1767 Survey of India Dehradun Map works
1788 First Map of Hindusthan — By James Rennell (1st Surveyor General); 1:3 million scale
1787 Royal Botanic Garden Calcutta Vegetation
1840 Geomagnetic Observatory Bombay Tectonics
1851 Geological Survey of India Calcutta Rocks
1861 Census of India Calcutta Population
1861 Archaeological Survey of India Calcutta Archaeology
1875 Indian Meteorological Department Pune Climate
1906 Forest Research Institute Dehradun Flora
1920 1st Geographical Association Lahore Geography
1924 Geographical Association Aligarh —
1927 Geographical Association Patna —
  • John Walker — Atlas of India on a scale of 4 miles per inch

Quick Reference

Key Books, Authors & Models — Quick Reference

Book / Concept Author
Geography and Modern Synthesis P. Haggett
All Possible Worlds P.E. James
Spatial Organisation Abler, Adams, Gould
Politische Geographie (Lebensraum) Ratzel
Elements of Regional Economics Harry W. Richardson
Correlated with Ptolemy’s book Al-Idrisi
Morphology of the Earth L.C. King
Principles of Physical Geology A. Holmes
Geomorphology Sparks
Principles of Geomorphology W.D. Thornbury
Geography as Human Ecology H.H. Barrows
Probabilism O.H.K. Spate
Paradigm Kuhn
Meta paradigm Masterman (1970)
Growth Pole Theory Boudeville
Cultural Landscape / Cultural Hearth Carl Sauer
Mental Map Gould & White + Lynch
Father of Regional Science Walter Isard
Theory of Intervening Opportunity Stouffer
Areal Functional Organisation Philbrick
Hydraulic Slope Theory R.E. Horton
Behaviouralism in Geography Kirk
Terrestrial Unity Paul Vidal de la Blache
Subsidence Theory of Coral Reef Charles Darwin
Geographica Strabo
Explanation in Geography David Harvey
History of Geographical Discovery J. N. L. Baker
Ancient Geography of India Alexander Cunningham
Rimland Theory Nicholas J. Spykman
Geostrategic and Geopolitical Realms Saul Cohen
Unified Field Theory S. B. Jones (linked Gottman & Hartshorne)
Grand Theory C. Wright Mills
Geopiety J. K. Wright
Model Elements (Channels, Diffusion, etc.) Peter Haggett

Key Scholars — Master Quick Reference

Scholar School Key Contribution
P. Haggett British Locational analysis
Eratosthenes Greek Father of Geography; coined ‘geography’; measured circumference
Hipparchus Greek Father of Trigonometry; 360° circle; astrolabe; stereographic projection
Posidonius Greek Father of Oceanography
Herodotus Greek Father of History & Ethnography
Strabo Roman Geographia 17 vols; Ekumene; Chronological Paradigm
Ptolemy Roman Art of map-making; Guide to Geography
Humboldt German Pioneer of Physical Geography; Cosmography; Continentality; Kosmos
Ritter German Regional Geography; Unity in Diversity; Erdkunde; teleologist
Darwin — Evolution; influenced geography greatly
Peschel German Modern Physical Geography; Landforms
Richthofen German Modern Geomorphology; General vs. Regional Geography
Ratzel German Founder of Human Geography; Lebensraum; Social Darwinism
Hettner German Chorological concept; Landschaftskunde; Unity in method
A. Penck German Formulated Geomorphology; evaporation–temperature; Gestalt
Vidal de la Blache French Possibilism; Human Geography; genre de vie; Terrestrial Unity
Brunhes French Géographie Humaine; Principle of Activity & Interaction
Reclus French Nouvelle Géographie Universelle; Social Geography
de Martonne French Physical geography; glacial erosion
Mackinder British British School founder; Heartland Theory; Environmental Determinism
Patrick Geddes British Place, Work & Folk; La Play Society
W.M. Davis American Cycle of Erosion; Founder AAG
Mark Jefferson American Laws of Primate City; Civilizing Rails
Semple American “Man is a product of the Earth surface”; Environmental Determinism
Huntington American Climate and civilization; Pulse of Asia
Carl O. Sauer American Cultural Landscape; rejected determinism
Barrows American Human Ecology
Hartshorne American Possibilist-determinist debate is futile
O.H.K. Spate British/Australian Probabilism
Kropotkin Russian Anarchism; cooperation in evolution
Dokuchaiev Russian First prof of geography Russia; Soil Geography
Norman Myers — ‘Biodiversity Hotspot’ concept

Notes compiled by Pulakesh Pradhan — Geographical Thought (NET)

Notes compiled by Geography Team