Geosophy is a concept introduced to
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
by
J.K. Wright in 1947. The word is a compound of ‘geo’ (Greek for earth) and ‘sophia’ (Greek for wisdom). Wright defined it thus:
:Geosophy ... is the study of geographical knowledge from any or all points of view. It is to geography what historiography is to history; it deals with the nature and expression of geographical knowledge both past and present—with what Whittlesey has called ‘man’s sense of
errestrialspace’. Thus it extends far beyond the core area of scientific geographical knowledge or of geographical knowledge as otherwise systematized by geographers. Taking into account the whole peripheral realm, it covers the geographical ideas, both true and false, of all manner of people—not only geographers, but farmers and fishermen, business executives and poets, novelists and painters, Bedouins and Hottentots—and for this reason it necessarily has to do in large degree with subjective conceptions.
THE CONCEPT OF GEOSPHY
Geosophy is the school of thought that asserts that earth cannot be studied independent of the people who live & experiences Earth.
The range of perception of the Earth is so varied & there are as many perception as people themselves, so, it is impossible to study the Earth independent of people who experiences it.
This concept reinforced the concept of cultural landscape of Carl 0. Sauer & Ratzel & also the work of vidals Genere-de-vie.
:(Wright 1947)
This has been summarised as:
:the study of the world as people conceive of and imagine it
:(McGreevy 1987)
Belief systems as they relate to human interaction with the Earth's environments.
: (attributed to Professor Innes Park 1995)
Superstition
Geosophy is sometimes used as a synonym for the study of
earth mysteries.
See also
*
American Association of Geographers
The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit learned society, scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquar ...
*
Geopoetics
*
Technical geography
Technical geography is the branch of geography that involves using, studying, and creating tools to obtain, analyze, interpret, understand, and communicate spatial information.
The other branches of geography, most commonly limited to human geo ...
**
Quantitative geography
Quantitative geography is a subfield and methodological approach to geography that develops, tests, and uses scientific, mathematical, and statistical methods to analyze and model geographic phenomena and patterns. It aims to explain and predict t ...
**
Qualitative geography
Qualitative geography is a subfield and methodological approach to geography focusing on Nominal category, nominal data, descriptive information, and the subjective and interpretive aspects of how humans experience and perceive the world. Often, ...
References
*Keighren, Innes M. “Geosophy, imagination, and ''terrae incognitae'': exploring the intellectual history of John Kirtland Wright.” ''Journal of Historical Geography'' 31, no. 3 (2005): 546–62.
*McGreevy, P. 1987 Imagining the future at Niagara Falls. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 77 (1):48–62
*Wright, J.K. 1947.
''Terrae Incognitae'': The Place of Imaginationin Geography Annals of the Association of American Geographers 37: 1–15.
Geography terminology
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