The Nature of Geographic Knowledge

Abstract

The nature of geographic knowledge today is very different from what it was fifty years ago. It has evolved from phenomenal (declarative) to intellectual (primed by cognitive demands). Surges of interest in systematic specialties and technical innovations in representation and analysis have changed the nature of geographic knowledge, advanced geographic vocabulary, defined and examined geographic concepts, and developed spatially explicit theories relating to human and physical environments. Explorations of interactions between these domains has generated a new interest in integrated science. This interest has produced a unique way of examining human-environment relations, and has provided the basis for a vastly different underlying knowledge structure in the discipline. But the future still challenges and significant problems face geography if it is to remain a viable academic discipline in the new information technology society.