Modern GeographyNewbigin, Marion I. (Marion Isabel)
Science
Modern Geography
Newbigin, Marion I. (Marion Isabel)
Geography
Humboldt was, above all, a great traveller, but he was also a man of
science in the largest sense, interested not in one group of facts, but
in many. The extent of his knowledge and the breadth of his interests
enabled him to observe a vast number of phenomena while his particular
genius was manifest in the way in which he correlated these, and
considered them in their relation to each other. Though it is true that
his influence was most direct in the case of natural history, yet in
this respect also he pointed to the future, for the geographers of
to-day are indebted to the naturalists for some of their finest
generalisations.
Ritter was a great teacher, the prototype of those who alike by their
personal influence and by their books have enriched geographical science
within the last fifty years. He had not Humboldt's breadth of knowledge
and interest, but in the stress which he laid upon the earth as above
all interesting in that it is the field of the activity of man, he
emphasised an aspect of the subject in which perhaps the most
interesting modern developments have taken place.
Darwin had a twofold effect upon the progress of geography. In the first
place, in his detailed work, _e. g._ in connection with coral reefs, and
with the distribution of animals, and less directly in his investigation
of the part played by earthworms in the formation of soil, he himself
added to geographical knowledge. But he did much more than this. The
doctrine of evolution which he made common property has had and is
having an enormous effect upon geographical science, both directly and
indirectly.
As is well known, in connection with his own theory of the cause of
evolution, Darwin laid great stress upon the "Struggle for Existence."
But he himself expressly stated that he used the term in a "large and
metaphorical sense," a sense which in popular language it has tended to
lose. From the geographer's standpoint, therefore, it is better to say
that Darwin's work has added a new interest to the study of
interrelations. Humboldt, as we have indicated, was greatly interested
in such subjects as the connection between the climate of a region and
the vegetation, between the activities of man in a particular region and
the physical conditions, and so on. But Darwin added a new interest to
such studies. For example, it is a curious fact that desert plants have
often spiny leaves, long roots, and so forth, and it is interesting to
note how these peculiarities fit the plants for life in an arid climate.
But when Darwin showed that there was evidence that the physical
conditions of the desert gave rise to certain types of vegetation, it
became worth while to study both the physical conditions and the
characters of the plants in much greater detail than before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account