GEOG 601 WEEK 3 Flashcards
Absolute Space
A view of space as independent of what occupies it. A potentially unlimited expanse within which everything else exists. Associated with Issac Newton
Ontology
The philosophical study of nature of being and existence. Ask the question “what exists”?
Nation-state
A term used to describe a state that bases its legitimacy on the existence of a nation with which it territoriality coincides.
Idealism
The philosophical belief that reality is fundamentally or primarily a mental product. Associated with Kant
Humanism
A human centered view of the world that bases understandings of our world on humans rather than God or some other external agent. This view was born in Renaissance Europe.
Alexander Humboldt (1769-1859)
Humboldt’s Kosmos is on of the foundation texts of geography. Grounded in physical sciences, particularly geology. His ideas clearly influenced the westward movement of the American “frontier” and foremd teh scientific underpinnings to the notion of “manifest destiny”
Carl Ritter (1779-1859)
Ritter’s Erkunde is one of the foundation texts of geography. Grounded in philosphical and human centered approach. First professor of geography in Berlin in 1820.
Empirically
by means of observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic
Theoretically
in a way that relates to the theory of a subject or area of study rather than its practical application.
methodology
the study of the principles underlying the organization of the various sciences and the conduct of scientific inquiry.
Kant
idealist. belief that space and time were the fundamental categories through which we perceive the world
theoretical perspective
set of assumptions about reality that inform the questions we ask and the kinds of answers we arrive at as a result. In this sense, a theoretical perspective can be understood as a lens through which we look, serving to focus or distort what we see.
imperialism
The definition of imperialism is the practice of a larger country or government growing stronger by taking over poorer or weaker countries that have important resources. An example of imperialism was England’s practices of colonizing India.
Environmental determinism
belief that the physical environment affects social and cultural development.
Social Darwinism
sociological theory popular in late nineteenth-century Europe and the United States. It merged Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and Herbert Spencer’s sociological theories to justify imperialism, racism, and laissez-faire (i.e. conservative) social and economic policies. Social Darwinists argued that individuals and groups, just like plants and animals, competed with one another for success in life. They used this assertion to justify the status quo by claiming that the individuals or groups of individuals at the top of social, economic, or political hierarchies belonged there, as they had competed against others and had proven themselves best adapted. Any social or political intervention that weakened the existing hierarchy, they argued, would undermine the natural order.
Darwin
Darwin (1809-1882) applied the Malthusian principle to the natural world and posited his theory of natural selection. In Origin of Species (1859) he argued that the scarcity of natural resources led to competition among individuals, which he called “the struggle for survival.” Through this competition, the best-adapted members of a given population were most likely to be successful, reproduce, and pass their beneficial adaptations on to their offspring. Poorly adapted members, he asserted, probably would not survive and therefore would not pass their lower quality traits to the next generation.
Social Darwinism part 2
some social Darwinists justified imperialism on the basis that the imperial powers were naturally superior and their control over other nations was in the best interest of human evolution. Social Darwinism was the product of late nineteenth-century economic and political expansion. As the European and American upper class sought to extend its economic and political power, it employed scientific explanations to justify the increasingly obvious gap between rich and poor. The social Darwinists’ reliance on natural laws allowed social, political, and scientific leaders to dismiss those who sought to redistribute wealth and power by claiming that reformers were violating the natural hierarchy.
Herbert Spencer
(1820-1903) chief proponent of social Darwinism
Teleology
A circular mode of argument where the end point prefigures the beginning. An argument where the end point is logically inherent to the argument.
The explanation of phenomena in terms of the purpose they serve rather than of the cause by which they arise.
Teleological reasoning
Teleological reasoning explains and helps understand phenomena by referring to their ultimate purpose and design. Modern positive science avoids teleological reasoning because of its controversial, metaphysical implications
lebensraum
the idea that states naturally expand unless they are constrained by stronger neighbors. Developed by Frederick Ratzel. He came to this idea after reading Darwin’s work and Herbert Spencer (social Darwinist) work. Use by Hitler
