Geography as a Science. Geography: Ancient and Modern Science

Lecture 1. Frontiers of land science

Geography is called a complex of closely related sciences, which is divided into four blocks: physical-geographical, socio-economic-geographical sciences, cartography, regional studies. Each of these blocks, in turn, is subdivided into systems of geographic sciences.

The block of physical and geographical sciences consists of general physical and geographical sciences, private (branch) physical and geographical sciences, paleogeography. General physical and geographical sciences are divided into general physical geography (general geography) and regional physical geography.

All physical and geographical sciences are united by a single object of research. Now the majority of scientists have come to a common opinion that all physical and geographical sciences study geographic envelope... According to N.I. Mikhailova (1985), physical geography is the science of the geographic shell of the Earth, its composition, structure, features of formation and development, spatial differentiation.

The genus of physical and geographical sciences is represented by general geography, landscape science, paleogeography, and private branch sciences. These different sciences are united by one object of study - the geographic shell; the subject of study of each of the sciences is specific, individual - it is any one of the structural parts or sides of the geographic envelope (geomorphology is the science of relief the earth's surface, climatology and meteorology - sciences that study the air shell, the formation of climates and their geographical distribution, soil science - the laws of soil formation, their development, composition and distribution patterns, hydrology - the science that studies the water shell of the Earth, biogeography studies the composition of living organisms, their distribution and the formation of biocenoses). The task of paleogeography is to study the geographic envelope and dynamics natural conditions in past geological eras. The subject of landscape studies is the thin, most active central layer of GO - the landscape sphere, consisting of natural-territorial complexes of various ranks. The subject of study of general geography (OZ) is the structure, internal and external relationships, the dynamics of the functioning of GO as an integral system.

The geographic envelope is the volume of matter of different composition and state that has arisen under terrestrial conditions and has formed a specific sphere of our planet. The geographic envelope in geography is studied as a part of the planet and the Cosmos, which is under the dominion of earthly forces and develops in the process of complex cosmic-planetary interaction.

In the system of fundamental geography education, geography is a kind of connecting link between geographic knowledge, skills and concepts acquired at school and global science. This course lays the foundations for a geographic worldview and thinking. The geographic world in geography appears in the form of integrity, processes and phenomena are considered in a systemic connection with each other and with the surrounding space. “In geography, from facts as such, attention is shifted to clarifying the comprehensive connections between them and disclosing a complex set of geographic processes in the space of everything the globe", - wrote S. V. Kalesnik more than half a century ago.

Geography belongs to the fundamental natural sciences. In the hierarchy of the natural cycle of sciences, geography as a particular variant of planetary science should be on a par with astronomy, cosmology, physics, chemistry. The next rank is created by the earth sciences - geology, geography, general biology, ecology, etc. In the system of geographical disciplines, geography plays a special role. It appears as a kind of "over-science", uniting information about all processes and phenomena that occur after the formation of the planet from the interstellar nebula. During this time, the earth's crust, air and water shells, saturated with living matter to varying degrees, have arisen on our planet. As a result of their interaction along the periphery of the planet, a specific material volume was formed - a geographic envelope. The study of this shell as a complex formation is the task of geography.

Geography serves as a theoretical basis for global ecology - a science that assesses the current state and predicts the coming changes in the geographic envelope as an environment for the existence of living organisms in order to ensure their ecological well-being. Over time, the state of the geographic envelope has changed and is changing from purely natural to natural-anthropogenic and even substantially anthropogenic. But it has always been and will be the environment in relation to man and living beings. From this point of view, the main task of geosciences is the study of global changes occurring in the geographic envelope, in order to understand the interaction of physical, chemical and biological processes that determine the Earth's ecosystem.

Geography is the theoretical basis of evolutionary geography - a huge block of disciplines that study the history of the emergence and development of our planet and its environment. It provides an understanding of the past and the reasoning behind the causes and effects of modern processes and phenomena in a geographic envelope. Proceeding from the fact that the past determines the present, geography significantly helps to decipher the development trends of almost all global problems of our time. This is a kind of key to understanding the world.

The term "geography" appeared in the middle of the 19th century. when translating the works of the German geographer K. Ritter by Russian translators under the guidance of P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. This word has a purely Russian sound. Currently, in foreign languages the concept of "geography" is answered by different terms and its literal translation is sometimes difficult. The term "geography" was introduced by Russian researchers as it most fully reflects the essence of the translated descriptions. In this regard, it is hardly correct to assert that "geography" has a foreign origin and was introduced by K. Ritter. There is no such word in Ritter's works, he spoke about the knowledge of the Earth or general geography, and the Russian-language term is the fruit of Russian specialists.

Geography as a systemic doctrine developed mainly during the XX century. as a result of research by major geographers and naturalists, as well as generalizations of accumulated knowledge. However, its initial orientation has noticeably transformed, going from the knowledge of fundamental natural-geographical laws to the study on this basis of "humanized" nature in order to optimize the surrounding (natural or natural-anthropogenic) environment and manage it at the planetary level, having the noble task of preserving everything biological diversity.

Considering geography as a fundamental natural science of a geographic profile, it is necessary to pay attention to the main methodological method of studying geographic objects - spatial-territorial, that is, the study of any object in its spatial location and relationship with surrounding objects. Geographic envelope is a volumetric concept, where a territory with its depth (subsoil and water) and height (air) is formed jointly under the influence of geographical processes and phenomena that are constantly changing over time.

So, geography is a fundamental science that studies the general laws of the structure, functioning and development of the geographic shell in unity and interaction with the surrounding space-time at different levels of its organization (from the Universe to the atom) and establishes the ways of creation and existence of modern natural (natural-anthropogenic) situations and trends of their possible transformation in the future.

The origins of geosciences were laid in ancient times, when people became interested in their surroundings on Earth and in Space. However, ancient thinkers did not only describe the surroundings. Already initially, people systematically observed changes in the surrounding space and natural coincidences, trying to establish cause-and-effect relationships. Long before religious teachings and ideas about the divine beginning of nature and life, there were views on the world around us. This is how the concepts and ideas gradually took shape, many of which were undoubtedly of a geographic nature.

The Egyptians and Babylonians predicted the time of the onset of floods, depending on the location of the stars, the Greeks and Romans measured the Earth and established its position in Space, the Chinese and ancestors of the Hindus comprehended the meaning of life and the relationship of man with his natural environment, used the laws of motion of the Earth and the position of planets and stars for their ideological views and constructions of religious buildings. These achievements characterize the pre-scientific period of cognition and formation geographic knowledge... Many discoveries attributed to the thinkers of the medieval Renaissance were already known in ancient times.

In the pre-antique period in ancient India, the doctrine of a material substance arose, which consisted of separate indivisible elements (atoms) or their combinations. In addition to matter, inanimate substances included space and time, as well as conditions of rest and movement. The people of India were the first to proclaim the principle of no harm to living organisms. In ancient China, the doctrine of the universal law of the world of things was created, according to which the life of nature and people flows along a certain natural path, which, together with the substance of things, forms the basis of the world. Everything in the world is in motion and change, during which all things turn into their opposite. Ancient Babylon and Ancient Egypt gave examples of the use of the achievements of astronomy, cosmology and mathematics in the practical life of peoples. Here the teachings about the origin of the world (cosmogony) and its structure (cosmology) arose. The Babylonians established the correct sequence of planets, formed a stellar astral worldview, identified the signs of the zodiac, introduced the 60-ary system of calculus, which is the basis of the degree measure and time scale, established the periods of recurrence of solar and lunar eclipses. In the era of the Ancient and Middle Kingdoms in Egypt, the foundations for forecasting the Nile floods were developed, a solar calendar was created, the length of the year was precisely determined and 12 months were allocated. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians applied their knowledge of astronomy to navigate and navigate the stars. The ancient peoples expressed the correct and fundamental to the present thought about the evolution of the surrounding world (from simple to complex, from disorder to order), its constant variability and renewal.

In ancient times, an idea of the geocentric structure of the World was compiled (K. Ptolemy, 165 - 87 BC), the concepts of "Universe" and "Space" were introduced, and correct estimates of the shape and size of the Earth were given. At this time, a system of earth sciences was formed, the main directions of which were: descriptive-regional (Strabo, Pliny the Elder), mathematical-geographic (Pythagoreans, Hipparchus, Ptolemy) and physical-geographical (Eratosthenes, Posidonius).

Much was given to the development of geography and its individual directions of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance - the time of great geographical discoveries (from the end of the 15th century), when travel was widely developed, which brought a huge amount of factual material about the seas and lands, the generalization of which improved the concept of geographical space. The sphericity of the Earth, the unity of the waters of the World Ocean, was practically proved, the globe was created for the first time (in the first half of the 15th century. circumnavigation Magellan). N. Copernicus published his heliocentric system of the structure of the Universe, and D. Bruno expressed the idea of the infinity of the Universe and the plurality of worlds. In the oceans, currents (in particular, the Gulf Stream), calm and monsoon zones were discovered. G. Mercator proposed a new projection and created world map easy to navigate. This period is associated with the emergence of comparative geographical descriptions, the creation of theories of scientific conclusions by the methods of induction (F. Bacon) and deduction (R. Descartes), the development of the isoline method for drawing up bathymetric and then gypsographic maps. The design of the telescope, thermometer and barometer made it possible to begin the development of experimental geography and instrumental observations.

At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. the contours of geography are beginning to take shape. N. Carpenter (1625) tried to bring together information about the nature of the Earth. A little later (1650), B. Varenius's work appeared, which can be considered the official beginning of geography, where he wrote that "a general geography is called one that considers the Earth in general, explains its properties, without entering into a detailed description of countries." In 1664 R. Descartes gave a natural-scientific explanation of the origin of the Earth. He believed that the Sun and all the planets of the solar system were formed as a result of the vortex movement of the smallest particles of matter, and during the formation of the Earth, a differentiation of matter into a fiery liquid metal core, solid crust, atmosphere and water took place. This work gave rise to many ideas (T. Barnett, J. Woodward, W. Whiston) about the origin of bodies in the surrounding space and behavior earth masses... A hypothesis of contraction arose, based on the views on the reduction of the planet's volume as it cools (E. Beaumont), assumptions about the dependence of large landforms on the movements of the earth's masses, the idea of a continuous connection between the internal and external forces of the Earth's development (M. Lomonosov). For the first time, attempts were made to classify living organisms (J. Ray, C. Linney, J. Lamarck), and the natural history of the Earth began to be considered together with living organisms, including humans (J. Buffon, G. Leibniz).

In the middle of the 18th century. new scientifically grounded theories and hypotheses appeared. The first in this series should be called the theory of the universe and the formation of the solar system by I. Kant (1755), in which the author relied on the laws discovered by I. Newton (1686) universal gravitation and the movement of matter. He proposed a mechanical model of the origin of the world from initially dispersed inhomogeneous matter through the spontaneous complication of its structure. Recognizing the eternity and infinity of the Universe, I. Kant spoke about the possibility of finding life in it. In essence, the knowledge of the history of nature and the Earth on a strictly scientific basis began with I. Kant.

A. Humboldt and K. Ritter are the largest scientists-geographers and travelers of the first half of the XIX in., which made a huge contribution to the development of many geographical concepts and patterns. A. Humboldt (1769-1859) created a 5-volume work "Cosmos" on comparative geography (physical understanding of the world in the original edition) and wrote about his travels in the New World in 30 volumes. In them, he outlined the latest ideas: he introduced the concepts of "terrestrial magnetism", "magnetic pole" and "magnetic equator", substantiated the evolutionary changes of the earth's surface, laid the foundations of paleogeography, compared the fauna of South America and Australia, establishing their connections and differences, explored the outlines of continents and the position of their axes, studied the heights of the continents and determined the position of the centers of gravity of the continental masses. When studying the atmosphere, Humboldt established changes in air pressure depending on the latitude and altitude of a place and time of year, clarified the climatic distribution of heat, humidity, air electricity, proved a close relationship between intraterrestrial and atmospheric processes, as well as the interdependence of the atmosphere-ocean-land system. The scientist used the concept of "climate" in a broad geographical sense as a property of the atmosphere, "... strongly dependent on the conditions of the sea and land and the vegetation growing on it." He also substantiated the dependence of living nature on climate and laid the foundations of scientific geochemistry.

The formation of modern geography is associated with the name of K. Ritter (1779-1859). He showed the integrating role of geography in natural science and knowledge of the surrounding world, formulated a completely materialistic view of nature as a set of all things "existing near and far from us, connected by time and space into a harmonious system", expressed the idea of equilibrium of natural processes and phenomena in constant cycles and transformations, proved the interaction of land, sea and air in the process of functioning. In 1862, Ritter created the first course in geography (translated into Russian in 1864), the basis of which he believed was physical geography, explaining the forces (processes) of nature. The scientist considered the original system of the Earth's nature as a kind of organized and constantly developing single organism, distinguished by a special structure, laws and mechanisms of development. K. Ritter was of the opinion that only relying on the idea of an earthly organism or the integrity of the Earth, one can imagine the appearance and development of its constituent parts, understand the secret of the planet's structure. He substantiated the concept of "earthly space" as an integral three-dimensional unity and one of the objects of physical geography and "landscape" in its modern meaning, while emphasizing its important role as the basis of organic life. Scientists have developed an idea of relief as a plasticity and configuration of the earth's surface, created a classification of large relief forms, introduced the concepts of "highland", "plateau", "mountainous country", "environment", "element", and also considered the dependence of various natural bodies and ethnic groups from geographical location.

K. Ritter created a scientific school, which included such major geographers as E. Reckl, F. Ratzel, F. Richthofen, E. Lenz, who made a significant contribution to understanding the geographical features of individual parts of the Earth and enriched the content of theoretical geography and physical geography.

Second half of the 19th century characterized by new developments in the geographical sciences, from which independent disciplines emerged. The greatest role at this time belongs to Russian researchers.

AI Voeikov (1842-1916) is known as the founder of climatology. He established the most important factors for the formation of climate, substantiated the energy balance of the globe, explained the mechanism of heat transfer and climatic processes in different geographic zones.

Interconnection natural phenomena researched by V.V. Dokuchaev (1846-1903). The main result of his work should be considered the development of the concept of "natural complex" in relation to soil - an independent natural-historical body and a product of the interaction of climate, living organisms and parent rocks. Investigating soils and vegetation, he introduced the concepts of "natural historical processes" and "zones of nature", which formed the basis of the law of world zoning discovered by him. Dokuchaev formulated a program for a comprehensive and unified paradigm of new natural science - the science of the relationship between living and inanimate nature, between man and the world around him.

GN Vysotsky (1865-1940) made a significant contribution to understanding the processes of functioning of natural complexes. He established the water-regulating role of the upper soil horizon, identified soil types by the nature of the water regime. He managed to show the importance of the forest in the hydroclimatic features of the geographic envelope and its role as one of the factors in the development of the geographic environment. Methodologically, his research enriched the earth sciences by using time-space diagrams to detect change.

Around the same years, Z. Passarge (1867-1958) introduced the fundamental concept of physical geography - "natural landscape" - a territory where all the components of nature show conformity. He identified the landscape factors, made a landscape classification on the example of Africa.

In Russia in the same years, L.S. Berg (1876-1950) was engaged in similar issues, who substantiated the concept of "landscape zone" as a set of the same landscapes and developed a reasonable division of the territory of Siberia and Turkestan, and then everything Soviet Union into geographical (landscape) zones. He approved the concept of the landscape as a natural unity of objects and phenomena, where the whole affects the parts, and the parts - the whole. He laid the foundations for landscape-geographical zoning with the allocation of zones and landscapes as real-life natural formations with natural boundaries. Berg formulated the idea of changing landscapes during the development of the planet and proved the irreversibility of these changes. He considered geography to be the science of geographical landscapes, thereby giving it a regional character, and considered geography as a branch of physical geography.

A.N. Krasnov (1862-1914) is known as the founder of constructive geography, which allowed him, on this basis, to develop and implement measures to transform the Black Sea subtropics. He created the first course "General Geography" (1895-1899), the task of which was to find a causal relationship between the forms and phenomena that determine the dissimilarity of various parts of the earth's surface, as well as to study their nature, distribution and influence on human life and culture. Krasnov emphasized the anthropocentricity of geography. He belongs to the classification of climates and vegetation cover of the Earth, zoning of the globe according to vegetation types, based on the zonal-regional principle. He approached the understanding of the zonality of geographical processes and phenomena before the discovery by V.V. Dokuchaev of the law of world zonality and the descriptions of landscape zones by L. S. Berg. Assessing the scientific legacy of A. N. Krasnov, it should be emphasized that he was the first researcher of geography, who practically embodied part of his conclusions in the reconstruction of a vast territory. Unlike his predecessors, the scientist considered the task of geoscience not to describe disparate natural phenomena, but to reveal the mutual connection and interdependence between natural phenomena, believing that scientific geography is not interested in the external side of phenomena, but in their genesis.

Following the textbook by A. N. Krasnov, A. A. Kruber's General Geography was published (1917), where the concept of the "earth's shell" or "geosphere" (later developed by A. A. Grigoriev) was given. Kruber emphasized the unity of all the components of the geographic environment that need to be studied as a whole. This textbook was the main one throughout the first half of the 20th century.

The works of V.I.Vernadsky (1863-1945), mainly his doctrine of the biosphere, were of great importance for the development of geoscience. The concept of "living matter" he introduced and the proof of its widespread distribution and constant participation in natural processes and phenomena raised the question of the need for a new understanding of the essence of the geographic envelope, which should be considered as a bioinert formation. Scientific and philosophical reasoning allowed Vernadsky, along with other scientists (L. Pasteur, P. Curie, II Mechnikov), to express an opinion about the cosmic origin of life (the theory of panspermia) and the special nature of living matter. The scientist understood the biosphere as an interconnected system of living organisms and their habitat. Unfortunately, many of Vernadsky's views, including his doctrine of the noosphere, were not in demand for a long time and were practically not taken into account in geography.

A new stage in the development of geosciences coincides with the beginning and middle of the 20th century. and is associated with the names of A.A. Grigoriev (1883-1968), S.V. Kalesnik (1901-1977), K.K. Markov (1905-1980) and other scientists who brought geography to the modern path of development. A.A. Grigoriev introduced the fundamental concepts that are the object and subject of geoscience - "geographic envelope" and "unified physical and geographical process", combining the ecological approach to the study of geography with the need for interrelated consideration of all processes and phenomena on Earth. He declared geography as a potential developer and carrier of the planetary strategy for the survival of mankind in relations with nature.

S. V. Kalesnik summarized the achievements of geography in his textbook (1947 and subsequent reprints), including new judgments about the components of the geographic envelope. This textbook still retains its value and is a kind of example for writing educational materials.

The continuing differentiation of geography has led to the detailed development of its individual parts. Special studies of the ice sheet and its paleogeographic significance (K.K.Markov), the geophysical mechanism of differentiation of the earth's surface by geographic areas and altitudinal zonality (M.I.Budyko), the history of the climate against the background of changes in the geographic envelope in the past (A.S. Monin), the energy balance of the Earth from remote observations (K.Ya. differences (A. G. Isachenko), the landscape envelope as part of the geographical envelope (F. N. Milkov). During these years, the periodic law of geographical zoning of Grigoriev-Budyko was established, the huge role of bioorganic matter in the formation of specific geological formations of the distant past was revealed (A.V. Sidorenko), new areas of geography appeared - space geography, ecological geography, or global ecology, practically merged bringing together the research of "exact" (physical and mathematical) and "natural" (biological and geographical) natural science into an integrated system of geography.

Middle and second halfXX v. were especially filled with events in various branches of knowledge, which required qualitative changes in attitudes and judgments.

The most significant of them:

the surfaces of planets and their satellites are composed of rocks of basic and ultrabasic composition and are dotted with crater irregularities - traces of falling meteorites or other cosmic bodies;

at sites Solar system volcanic processes and ice formations, some of which may be frozen water, have been observed almost everywhere; most cosmic bodies have

own atmosphere with traces of oxygen and organic compounds (methane, etc.); organic matter is widespread in outer space, including those outside the solar system; around the Earth there is a dusty sphere - cosmic dust, consisting of mineral and organic substances;

living organisms on Earth are found in all spheres and in various environments: inside rocks at a distance of thousands of meters from the surface, at a temperature environment at hundreds of degrees Celsius and a pressure of thousands of atmospheres, in conditions of high values of radioactive and other radiation, at low temperatures almost until absolute zero, at the bottom of the oceans in conditions volcanic eruptions(white and black smokers), in various brines, including metal-bearing ones, in absolute darkness and without the presence of oxygen; photosynthesis can take place without sunlight (with light from underwater eruptions), and bacteria can produce organic matter through chemical energy (chemosynthesis); living organisms are extremely diverse and complex in structure, although they consist of a limited number of biochemical compounds and genetic codes;

the bottom of the oceans was formed mainly by young basalts with sediment interlayers during the last 150 million years; the expansion of riftogenic formations at the bottom of the oceans is currently taking place at an average speed of 4 - 5 cm / year; At the bottom of the oceans, the processes of degassing of mantle matter are widely developed - magma, volcanic gases, juvenile (first appeared) deep waters, thermal and metal-bearing formations;

the structure of the crust of the continents and the bottom of the oceans is fundamentally different;

the continents have ancient (more than 3.0 - 3.5 billion years) Archean cores, which indicates the constant location of their central parts and the expansion of the areas of modern continents, mainly due to the build-up of younger geological structures along the periphery; the rocks of the continents of pre-Paleozoic age (more than 1 billion years) are metamorphosed in most cases;

the specific gravity of oxygen in atmospheric air is greater than the specific gravity of photosynthetic oxygen, which indicates a deep source of its origin during degassing of the mantle material; the study of the degassed substance within the land showed the presence (%) of carbon dioxide - about 70, carbon monoxide - up to 20, acetylene - 9, sulfur oxide - 3.7, methane - 2.1, the proportion of nitrogen, hydrogen and ethane does not exceed 1 %;

in the depths of the World Ocean, there is a widespread mixing of waters in the form of ascending and descending flows, various multi-tiered currents, eddies, etc .;

ocean-atmosphere interactions are more complex than previously thought (eg El Niño and La Niña);

natural disasters lead to the movement of huge masses of matter and energy, which exceeds the effect of anthropogenic impact on the environment.

The first ideas about the earth's surface were possessed by primitive hunters and gatherers. Passing on to future generations information about the world around them, ancient people left drawings on stone and bones, on the bark of trees and animal skins. This is how the initial foundations of geographical knowledge were laid.

The birth of earth science

Geography is one of the oldest sciences. Its name comes from two Greek words: geo - Earth, grapho - I write (description). Having arisen in ancient times, geography at first really had a descriptive character. Travelers and navigators, commanders and merchants took scientists with them to compose descriptions of new lands and peoples. The Greek scientist Eratosthenes, more than 2200 years ago, first collected these descriptions in a scientific work on the nature of the Earth and called it "Geography".

About 500 years ago - in the era of the great geographical discoveries - geography was the queen of sciences for two centuries. Monarchs and wealthy merchants personally discussed plans for future expeditions with geographers and generously financed their travels in the hope of obtaining untold treasures. In a short historical period, most of the oceanic spaces and inhabited lands appeared on the world map. At this time, geography was a collection of a wide variety of information. She gave answers to the questions "what is this?" and "where is it located?" indicating the location of various objects on the surface of the earth. However, even in the 18th century, the Arctic, Australia, and many inland regions of the continents remained white heels on the maps.

But with the development of geography, its main task was the study of laws, but by which our planet lives and develops. Geography began to evolve from a descriptive discipline to a "why" science. For this, geographers needed to understand and explain the reasons for the appearance and change of objects and natural phenomena.

Geographical sciences

Modern geography is a complex ramified system, or "tree" of sciences. Geography is the only science that unites diverse (knowledge about nature and people. All geographic objects and the phenomena created by nature are studied by physical geography. The population and objects created by human activities are studied by social geography. One of the most important tasks of modern geographical science in general - the study of the diverse interaction of nature and society to solve the global (world) problems facing humanity, for example, the problem of providing the population with food, natural resources, including fuel and water. The tasks of studying the World Ocean and outer space are very important. A special place among the geographical sciences is occupied by cartography - the science of geographic maps Oh. Closely related to geography is the related science of geology.

Geographers today are specialists in many professions. The waters of the land are investigated by a hydrologist, ice - by a glaciologist, irregularities of the Earth's surface - by an animal and vegetable world planets are a biotheographer. Geoecologists predict the consequences of human impact on nature. The system of geographical sciences also includes disciplines of a practical nature, for example, medical and military geography.

Plan:

1 History of geography
- 1.1 Geography of the Ancient East
- 1.2 Ancient Mediterranean geography
- 1.3 Geography of the Middle Ages
- 1.4 The era of great geographical discoveries
- 1.5 Age of Expeditions
- 1.6 Scientific expeditions and theoretical discoveries of the 19th - early 20th centuries
2 Geographical discoveries
3 Map as a basis for geographical research
4 The geographical picture of the world and geographical culture
5 System of Geographical Sciences
- 5.1 physical geography
- 5.2 Socio-economic geography
6 Personalities
7 Major geographic issues
8 Major geographic discussions

Introduction

Geography: (Old Greek. γεωγραφία , land description, from γῆ - Earth and γράφω - I write, describe)

a unified complex of sciences that study the geographic shell of the Earth and focus on identifying spatio-temporal patterns. The main objects of study of geographical sciences are geospheres (biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and soil cover) and geosystems (landscapes, natural areas, biogeocenoses ...)
a body of knowledge about the spatial and temporal characteristics of any territory, object, phenomenon or process (geography of continents and oceans, geography of Russia, geography of tundra, geography of the spread of bird flu, geography of karst processes in the N region)

Physical map of the world (Medium) (Large 2 MB)

The object of study of geography is the laws and patterns of placement and interaction of the components of the geographic environment and their combinations at different levels. The complexity of the object of research and the breadth of the subject area led to the differentiation of a single geography into a number of specialized (sectoral) scientific disciplines that form a system of geographical sciences. Within its framework, the natural (physical and geographical) and social (socio-economic) geographical sciences are distinguished. Sometimes geographic cartography is singled out separately as a separate geographic discipline.

Geography is one of the oldest sciences. Many of its foundations were laid in the Hellenic era. This experience was generalized by the outstanding geographer Claudius Ptolemy in the 1st century AD. NS. The heyday of the Western geographical tradition falls on the Renaissance, which is marked by a rethinking of the achievements of the late Hellenistic era and significant achievements in cartography, which are usually associated with the name of Gerhard Mercator. The foundations of modern academic geography in the first half of the 19th century were laid by Alexander Humboldt and Karl Ritter.

1. History of geography

1.1. Geography of the Ancient East

Already in 2 thousand BC. NS. v Ancient egypt equipped expeditions to the center of Africa, along the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The resettlement of peoples, wars and trade expanded the knowledge of people about the surrounding spaces, developed the skills of orientation by the Sun, Moon and stars. The dependence of agriculture and cattle breeding on river floods and other periodic natural phenomena determined the appearance of the calendar.

In the 3-2 millennium BC. NS. representatives of the Harappan civilization (in the territory of modern Pakistan) discovered monsoons. Elements of geography contain the sacred ancient Indian books: in the Vedas a whole chapter is devoted to cosmology, in the Mahabharata you can find a list of oceans, mountains, rivers. Already IX-VIII centuries BC NS. in ancient China, when choosing a place to build a fortress, maps of suitable sites were made. In the III century BC. NS. there are works entirely devoted to geography, a compass and a device for measuring distance, the "Regional Atlas" of China.

1.2. Ancient Mediterranean geography

World map made by Ptolemy

The pre-Socratic philosophical tradition has already given rise to many preconditions for the emergence of geography. Anaximander put forward the assumption that the Earth has the shape of a cylinder, and made a revolutionary assumption that people should also live on the other side of the "cylinder". He also published some geographical works.

In the IV century. BC NS. - V century. n. NS. ancient scientists-encyclopedists tried to create a theory about the origin and structure of the surrounding world, to depict the countries known to them in the form of drawings. The results of these studies were a speculative idea of the Earth as a ball (Aristotle), the creation of maps and plans, the definition geographic coordinates, introduction to everyday life of parallels and meridians, cartographic projections. Cratet Mallsky, a Stoic philosopher, studied the structure of the globe and created a model of the globe, suggesting how the weather conditions of the northern and southern hemispheres should correlate.

"Geography" in 8 volumes of Claudius Ptolemy contained information about more than 8000 geographical names and coordinates of almost 400 points. Eratosthenes Kirensky first measured the arc of the meridian and estimated the size of the Earth, he also owns the term "geography" (land description). Strabo was the founder of regional studies, geomorphology and paleogeography. In the writings of Aristotle, the foundations of hydrology, meteorology, oceanology, and the division of the geographical sciences are outlined.

1.3. Geography of the Middle Ages

Until the middle of the 15th century. the discoveries of the Greeks were forgotten, and the "center of geographical science" shifted to the East. The leading role in geographical discoveries passed to the Arabs. These are scholars and travelers - Ibn Sina, Biruni, Idrisi, Ibn Battuta. Important geographical discoveries in Iceland, Greenland and North America were made by the Normans, as well as by the Novgorodians, who reached Spitsbergen and the mouth of the Ob.

Marco Polo

Venice merchant Marco Polo opened for Europeans East Asia... And Afanasy Nikitin, who walked the Caspian, Black and Arabian seas and reached India, described the nature and life of this country.

1.4. The era of great geographical discoveries

XV-XVII centuries - the heyday of geography against the background of a general rise in culture and science. Geography became the most important science, enriched with information about the nature and population of almost all land, began to be divided into general and private. The map of Mercator showed the real outlines of the continents, and on the map of Leonardo da Vinci, the hypothetical southern continent. In Russia, they created the "Big Drawing" Of the Russian state in 1627.

Map of Europe by Mercator, 1554

1.5. Age of Expeditions

In the 17th-18th centuries, the search for new lands and routes was carried out on a state scale. Recording, mapping and generalization of the acquired knowledge became of great importance. Search Southern mainland ended with the discovery of Australia (Yanszon) and Oceania. Three round-the-world expeditions made by James Cook, discovering Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef. Russian pioneers moved to Siberia to the Far East.

MV Lomonosov in 1739 created the Geographical Department, and under Catherine II he compiled the first land use cadastre. In addition, he proposed ideas about the continuous change in the face of the Earth under the influence of internal and external forces, about the movement air masses, about the layers of the earth, etc.

Alexander von Humboldt, 1806

1.6. Scientific expeditions and theoretical discoveries of the 19th - early 20th centuries

Significant territorial discoveries were combined with deep theoretical generalizations, the discovery of geographical laws (Humboldt, Ritter, Reclus, Thünen). Geography was no longer limited to describing facts, but also tried to explain them. Applied geographic research is being carried out and scientific geographic societies are being created.

In Russia, formed: the Russian Geographical Society, powerful geographical schools, whose representatives (F.P. Litke, P.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, N.M. Przhevalsky, P.A.Kropotkin, N.N. Miklukho-Maclay , A.I. Voeikov, V.V.Dokuchaev, K.I. Arseniev) made a great contribution to the study of Eurasia and other regions of the world.

In 1884, the first department of geography was created by D. N. Anuchin at Moscow University.

2. Geographical discoveries

3. Map as a basis for geographical research

Satellite image of the Earth.

“From the map, any geographic research proceeds and comes to the map, from the map it begins and ends with the map” (N. N. Baransky). Despite the introduction of new methods into geography, the cartographic method is one of the main in research. This is due to the fact that the map is the most perfect way of transmitting spatial information. The method of modeling in geography, geoinformation and distance methods are based on the cartographic method.

4. Geographical picture of the world and geographical culture

Geographic culture is most often understood as the culture of geography as a science. The culture of geographical knowledge of both geographers and the population. In the works "Geographic culture" and "Geographic picture of the world" V. P. Maksakovsky examines these interrelated concepts from the standpoint of modern geography. In geographical culture, it includes the following components: 1) the geographical picture of the world, 2) geographical thinking, 3) the methods of geography, 4) the language of geography. Unfortunately, there is a gap between popular and scientific geographic culture, as society is mainly confronted with descriptive geography and has no idea about the language and methods of modern geography.

5. System of geographical sciences

5.1. physical geography

The object of study of physical geography is the geographic envelope as a whole, constituting it natural complexes and components.

Physical geography is based on general geography and landscape science. General geography studies the laws of the geographic envelope as a whole, landscape science studies landscape complexes.

Industry sciences:

Biogeography.
Climatology.
Geomorphology.
Hydrology.
Oceanology.
Glaciology.
Cryolithology.
Geography of soils.
Paleogeography.

5.2. Socio-economic geography

Socio-economic geography studies the territorial organization of society and is subdivided into four sectoral blocks (with their own sections:

Economical geography
Social geography
Political geography
Cultural geography
Historical geography

Regional geography and geo-urban studies are disciplines devoted to a comprehensive description of individual territories and the study of the problems of their development.

6. Personalities

Scientists who made a significant contribution to the formation of geography as a science

Alexander von Humboldt, 1847

Karl Ritter

Walter Isard
Ivan Gavrilovich Alexandrov
Dmitry Nikolaevich Anuchin
Konstantin Ivanovich Arseniev
Nikolay Nikolaevich Baransky
Lev Semyonovich Berg
William Bunge
Bernhard Waren
Alfred Weber
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky
Paul Vidal de la Blache
Alexander Ivanovich Voeikov (see)
Alfred Göttner
Andrey Alexandrovich Grigoriev
Alexander von Humbold
Vasily Vasilievich Dokuchaev
Karl Sauer
Anatoly G. Isachenko
Stanislav Vikentievich Kalesnik
Nikolay Nikolaevich Kolosovsky
Andrey Nikolaevich Krasnov
Walter Kristalller
Gleb Maksimilianovich Krzhizhanovsky
Vladimir Svyatoslavovich Kusov
August Lesch
Vladimir Pavlovich Maksakovsky
Gerhard Friedrich Miller
Fedor Nikolaevich Milkov
Lev Ilyich Mechnikov
Georgy Fyodorovich Morozov
Vladimir Sergeevich Preobrazhensky
Friedrich Ratzel
Karl Ritter
Konstantin Alekseevich Salischev
Veniamin Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky
Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky
Nikolay Adolfovich Solntsev
Nikolay Vladimirovich Sukachev
Strabo
Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev
Johann Heinrich von Thünen
Thorsten Hagerstrand
Peter Haggett
David Harvey
Richard Hartshorne
Richard Chorley
Jean Jacques Elise Reclus

Travelers who made significant discoveries (excluding scientific travelers)

Marco Polo's Travels

Vasco da Gama
Christopher Columbus
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern
Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev
Afanasy Nikitin
Marco Polo
Thor Heyerdahl

7. Major geographic issues

Problems standing in the way of development of geography and geographical sciences.

The problem of the unity of geography as a science and the search for a single object of research.
The problem of "theoretical geography" and philosophical foundations in geography.
The problem of the "loss" of practical sciences (land management, land reclamation, etc.) and public interest in geography.

8. Major geographic discussions

These discussions are still relevant in geography, play a huge role in geographical science, and may not have an unambiguous solution. Many of the geographic discussions have centered around terminology, classification, and other superficially formal constructs. However, terminology and classification are nothing more than a concentrated presentation of the theoretical views of scientists, and whole scientific schools, theories and hypotheses are behind the discussion about the definition.

Definition of geography as a science, is there such a science, the subject of study of geographical sciences.
Definitions of the concept of "geographic envelope", the difference between the geographic envelope and the geospheres of the Earth.
Determination of the system of geographical sciences, the place of individual sciences in this system and their significance for other sciences.
The essence of geography as a single science and is there such, goals, objectives and subject of study of geography.
Theoretical geography and is there such, which of the sciences can be called theoretical geography or is it a separate discipline, are there general geographic theories.
Horological approach to geography, its dominance in geographical research whether geography is a "pure" chorological science or should it investigate more than spatial patterns.
Definition of the concept of "map", the difference between the map and other models, the essence of the cartographic research method.
Definitions of the concepts "landscape", "natural-territorial complex", "geosystem", whether there is objectively a landscape, the essence of physical and geographical zoning.
"Discreteness" and "continuity" of the geographic envelope

Literature

Mukitanov N.K. From Strabo to the Present: (Evolution of Geographical Representations and Ideas). - M .: Thought, 1985 .-- 240 p. - 45,000 copies
Strabo. Geography / Per. from Old Greek G. A. Stratanovsky, ed. OO Kruger, total. ed. S. L. Utchenko - M .: Ladomir 1994
Brown L.A. History of geographical maps. - M., Tsentropoligraf, 2006 - 480 p.
Clavijo, Rui Gonzalez de... Diary of a trip to Samarkand to the court of Timur (1403-1406) / Per. from Old Spanish., foreword. and comments. I. S. Mirokova. - M .: Nauka, 1990 .-- 211 p.
Limnology and paleolimnology of Mongolia. Scientific articles / Group of authors: Batnasan N., Dorofeyuk N.I., Dulmaa A. et al. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 1994. - 304 p.

This abstract is based on an article from the Russian Wikipedia

Definition of science and its place in spiritual culture.

Natural, humanities and technical sciences. Their structure and problems.

Natural science and technogenic civilization.

Definition of science and its place in spiritual culture.

Natural science how science studies all processes and phenomena that have taken place and are happening in the real objective world, geographic envelope, outer space. This is a branch of science based on reproducible empirical testing (testing in practice) of hypotheses and the creation of theories describing natural phenomena and processes.

Natural science subject- facts and phenomena that are perceived by our senses. The task of scientists is to generalize these phenomena and create a theoretical model that includes the laws governing natural phenomena.

1.1. Definition of science and its place in spiritual culture.

Science is the most important element of the spiritual culture of people. Traditionally, it is customary to divide all available scientific information into two large sections - natural science, in which knowledge about the surrounding nature is combined, and humanitarian (from lat. humanitas - human nature), which includes knowledge about man, society and the spiritual life of people. For the natural sciences, the subject of research is objects, things of nature, in the field of the humanities, the subject of research is events, subjects.

The difference between natural science and humanitarian knowledge lies in the fact that natural science knowledge is based on the separation of the subject (person) and the object (nature, which the person-subject cognizes), while humanitarian knowledge is primarily related to the subject itself. Objective, spontaneous and independent processes operate in nature, and in society nothing happens without conscious goals, interests and motivations.

Such attempts could not fail to meet resistance and criticism from the humanities who studied the phenomena of social life and spiritual culture. Often, such resistance was accompanied by a complete denial of natural-scientific methods of cognition for the study of socio-cultural and humanitarian processes.

The emergence of new general scientific and interdisciplinary areas of research, the significant influence of the scientific and technological revolution contributed to the removal of the former confrontation between natural scientists and the humanities in modern science and the use of natural science methods by the humanities and vice versa. Currently, sociologists, lawyers, educators and other humanities specialists often use such interdisciplinary methods as the systems approach, ideas and methods of cybernetics, information theory, mathematical modeling, the theory of self-organization and other methods in their research.

Thus, the study of the basic concepts of modern natural science by students of humanitarian and socio-economic specialties seems necessary both for the application of natural science methods in their activities by the humanities, and in order to have a clear idea of the scientific picture of the world, developed by modern natural science.

1.2. The place of science in the cultural system and its structure

Science is not comprehended in orderto make wealth with it. On the contrary, wealthshould serve the development of science. Abai Kunanbayev

In the historical process, a certain level of development of society and a person, his cognitive and creative ways

ness, as well as its impact and relationship with the surrounding nature is determined by the state of their culture. Translated from latin culture (culture.) means cultivation, upbringing, education, development. In the broad sense of the word, culture is everything that, unlike that given by nature, is created by man. Science is one of the branches or sections of culture (Fig. 1.1). If in antiquity mysticism occupied an important place in the cultural system, in antiquity - mythology, in the Middle Ages - religion, then it can be argued that the influence of science dominates in modern society.

Science differs from other forms of social consciousness and culture in the following:

From mythology in that it does not strive to explain the world as a whole, but formulates the laws of the development of nature. The myth appears at different stages in the history of human development, as a narrative, legend, the fantastic images of which (gods, legendary heroes, events, etc.) were an attempt to generalize and explain various phenomena of nature and society. It is enough to recall the mythical gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks to

to present the content of mythology (Zeus is the thunderer, Poseidon is the god of the seas, Athena is the patroness of sciences, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, etc.);

from mystics the fact that it seeks not to merge with the object of research, but to its theoretical understanding. Mysticism, on the other hand, arose as an element of the secret images of the religious societies of the Ancient East and West. The main thing in these images is the communication of a person with God or some other mysterious creature. Such communication, according to mysticism, is achieved supposedly through illumination, ecstasy, revelation, etc .;

from religions the fact that reason and reliance on sensitive reality in science is more important than faith. In science, reason prevails, but it also has a belief in the cognitive capabilities of reason, and intuition, especially when forming hypotheses. Science can coexist with religion, since the attention of these branches of culture is directed to different things: in science - on empirical reality, in religion - mainly on the extrasensory (faith). In contrast to the scientific worldview, the religious worldview is expressed in communication with the "deity", with the supernatural with the help of prayers, sacraments, shrines, symbols. It is based on a prayerful and sacrificial attitude to the supernatural, the recognition of which is always hidden in the depths of world religions;

from philosophy the fact that its findings are subject to empirical verification;

from arts differs in its rationality, not stopping at the level of images, but brought to the level of theories. Art is one of the forms of social consciousness that reflects reality in artistic images;

from ideology the fact that its truths are generally valid and do not depend on the interests of certain strata of society;

from technicians the fact that science is aimed not at using the knowledge gained, but at the very knowledge of the world.

The science is a sphere of human activity, which is a rational way of knowing the world, in which

the knowledge about reality, based on empirical verification and mathematical proof, is developed and theoretically systematized.

As a multifunctional phenomenon, science is: 1) a branch of culture; 2) a way of knowing the world; 3) a certain system of organization (academies, universities, universities, institutes, laboratories, scientific societies and publications).

There is a certain internal structure and classification of modern sciences (Fig. 1.2).

Natural, humanitarian and mathematical sciences are considered fundamental, while technical, medical, agricultural, sociological and other sciences are applied.

The task of the fundamental sciences is to understand the laws governing the interaction of the basic structures of nature. Fundamental scientific research determines the prospects for the development of science.

The immediate goal of applied sciences is to apply the results of fundamental sciences to solve not only cognitive, but also social and practical problems. Thus, the current stage of scientific and technological progress is associated with the development of avant-garde research in applied sciences: microelectronics, robotics, computer science, biotechnology, genetics, etc. These areas, while retaining their applied orientation, acquire a fundamental character.

The results of scientific research are theories, laws, models, hypotheses, empirical generalizations. All these concepts, each of which has its own specific meaning, can be combined with one word "concepts". Concept "concept"(a certain way of interpreting an object, phenomenon, process) comes from the Latin conceptio - understanding, system. The concept, firstly, is a system of views, this or that understanding of phenomena, processes. Secondly, it is a single, defining concept, the leading thought of any work, scientific work, etc.

Geographers are scientists who specialize in geography.

Also, this word is used to refer to a geography teacher in a colloquial school argo.

Georgaf studies the geographic shell of the Earth - the sphere of interpenetration and interaction of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and noosphere, its structure and dynamics. The most important subject of geographical study is the processes of interaction between man and nature.

The main goal is the scientific substantiation of the ways of rational territorial organization society and nature management, creating the foundations of strategies for the environmentally sound development of society.

A geographer can specialize in local history, physical geography, geomorphology, glaciology, economic geography, geoinformatics. The ethnographer collects material about his native land, studies it, conducts educational work. The physicogeographer comprehensively evaluates natural complexes and determines their suitability for a particular purpose, develops geographical forecasts of the state in which the landscape may be influenced by various reasons in 10, 20, 50 years. Studying the relief of the earth's surface and the results of interaction crust with the outer shells of our planet. This is done in the search for minerals, in the construction of mines, gas pipelines, roads, in hydraulic construction, for the needs of agriculture and nature protection.

The work of a geographer most often consists of three stages: preparatory, field and office. At the preparatory stage, the problem is formulated, the available materials, maps, the results of previous research are studied, the program of field work is determined. Factual material is collected in the field stage. All data are recorded in field diaries. At the office stage, the collected material is processed, the results of the study are interpreted.

The word geography itself (ancient Greek land description, Earth and I write, describe) has two definitions:

A unified complex of sciences that study the geographic shell of the Earth and focus on identifying spatio-temporal patterns. The main objects of study of geographical sciences are geospheres (biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and soil cover) and geosystems (landscapes, natural zones, biogeocenoses ...)

A body of knowledge about the spatial and temporal characteristics of any territory, object, phenomenon or process (geography of continents and oceans, geography of Russia, geography of tundra, geography of the spread of bird flu, geography of karst processes in the N region)

We can say that a geographer is a person who studies the earth and everything that happens on it.

1) the geographical picture of the world,

2) geographical thinking,

3) methods of geography,

4) the language of geography. Unfortunately, there is a gap between popular and scientific geographic culture, as society is mainly confronted with descriptive geography and has no idea about the language and methods of modern geography.

There are different types of geography: physical geography, there is economic, political, medical and others.

There are basically two types:

physical geography

Socio-economic geography

The geographer works not only indoors, but also in open areas; there can be field trips (expeditions, field observations, even excursions with students or schoolchildren - if it is a geographer-teacher).

This specialist must be a physically strong person.

The geographer must also know mathematics, physics, geology, and biology, soil science, chemistry.

Professionally important qualities

Curiosity;

Research propensity;

Eye gauge;

Developed memory;

Good orientation on the ground;

Unpretentiousness;

Ability to analyze and think logically;

Physical endurance.

Medical contraindications

Infectious and skin diseases;

Neuroses;

Mental and nervous diseases;

Poor eyesight and hearing.

The ways of obtaining a profession are higher educational institutions.

Related professions

Ecologist, hydrologist, geologist, geochemist, geophysicist, geomorphologist.

Famous and famous Geographers