This paper contends that 1 ) the terminology of cause and effect, as well as the explicit use of the concept, can rest on respectable philosophical grounds, 2 ) this useage is methodologically viable, 3 ) this is a useful and natural approach to research with great heuristic values, and 4 ) it is compatible with recent restatements of the purpose and scope of geography. We apparently take a great deal of care to avoid the expression although there is an irreducible minimum of the basic notion whether we dress it in the language of "possibilism," "probabilism," or "empirical regularities." If we deny all possibility of anything akin to causal relations, ifthere are no observable regularities that justify the expectation that certain states, causes or forces are followed by certain other states or effects, then our analyses are meaningless. Spate's "probabilism," and A.F Martin's call for an "uncompromisingly scientific human geography based on cause and effect and rigorous scientific law." (3) In spite ofthe continuing calls for a more scientific geography emphasizing both non-human and human determinants, we rarely see the term in contemporary human geography, although it is common in scientific literature as well as in everyday speech. interrelated with each other,' " (2 ) The explanations of that era emphasized causes originating in the physical environment, and Emrys Jones has traced efforts to salvage some sort ofconnection between the environment and man's reaction to it through "possibilism," Griffith Taylor's "modified determinism," O.H.K. (1 ) Hartshome tells us that in earlier days "Hettner, and other writers following him, including such phrases as 'causally related,' 'causal connections,' or 'differences. Patton* The terminology of "cause and effect" has been regarded with great suspicion in geographic literature since the decline and fall of environmental determinism. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:ĬAUSE AND EFFECT IN GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS: ANACHRONISM OR USEFUL CONCEPT? Orin C.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories |