Philosophy of Geography
Encyclopedia
Philosophy of geography is that subfield of philosophy
which deals with epistemological, metaphysical
, and axiological
issues in geography
.
The Society for Philosophy and Geography was founded in 1997 by Andrew Light, a philosopher currently at George Mason University, and Jonathan Smith a geographer at Texas A&M University. Three volumes of an annual peer-reviewed journal, Philosophy and Geography, were published by Rowman & Littlefield Press which later became a bi-annual journal published by Carfax publishers. This journal merged with another journal started by geographers, Ethics, Place, and Environment, in 2005 to become Ethics, Place, and Environment: A journal of philosophy and geography published by Routledge. The journal was edited by Light and Smith up to 2009.
The journal publishes work by philosophers, geographers, and others in allied fields, on questions of space, place, and the environment broadly construed. The journal has been instrumental in expanding the scope of the field of environmental ethics to include work on urban environments.
In 2009 Smith retired from the journal and Benjamin Hale from the University of Colorado came on as the new co-editor. Hale and Light will relaunch the journal in January 2011 as Ethics, Policy, and Environment.http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/1366879X.html While the journal will now focus more on the relationship between environmental ethics and policy it still welcomes submissions on relevant work from geographers.
John Kirtland Wright
(1891–1969), an American geographer notable for his cartography
and study of the history of geographical thought, coined the related term geosophy
, for the broad study of geographical knowledge.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
which deals with epistemological, metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, and axiological
Axiology
Axiology is the philosophical study of value. It is either the collective term for ethics and aesthetics—philosophical fields that depend crucially on notions of value—or the foundation for these fields, and thus similar to value theory and meta-ethics...
issues in geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
.
The Society for Philosophy and Geography was founded in 1997 by Andrew Light, a philosopher currently at George Mason University, and Jonathan Smith a geographer at Texas A&M University. Three volumes of an annual peer-reviewed journal, Philosophy and Geography, were published by Rowman & Littlefield Press which later became a bi-annual journal published by Carfax publishers. This journal merged with another journal started by geographers, Ethics, Place, and Environment, in 2005 to become Ethics, Place, and Environment: A journal of philosophy and geography published by Routledge. The journal was edited by Light and Smith up to 2009.
The journal publishes work by philosophers, geographers, and others in allied fields, on questions of space, place, and the environment broadly construed. The journal has been instrumental in expanding the scope of the field of environmental ethics to include work on urban environments.
In 2009 Smith retired from the journal and Benjamin Hale from the University of Colorado came on as the new co-editor. Hale and Light will relaunch the journal in January 2011 as Ethics, Policy, and Environment.http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/1366879X.html While the journal will now focus more on the relationship between environmental ethics and policy it still welcomes submissions on relevant work from geographers.
John Kirtland Wright
John Kirtland Wright
John Kirtland Wright was an American geographer, notable for his cartography, geosophy, and study of the history of geographical thought. He was the son of classical scholar John Henry Wright and novelist Mary Tappan Wright, and the brother of legal scholar and utopian novelist Austin Tappan...
(1891–1969), an American geographer notable for his cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
and study of the history of geographical thought, coined the related term geosophy
Geosophy
Geosophy is a concept introduced to geography by J.K. Wright in 1947. The word is a compound of ‘ge’ and ‘sophia’ . Wright defined it thus:This has been summarised as:...
, for the broad study of geographical knowledge.