Historical Background of Quantitative Revolution in Geo

Geography for more than two hundred years was confronted with
the problems of generalization and theory building

After the Second World War, geographers of the developed world

realized the significance of using mathematical language rather
than the language of literature in the study of geography

Quantitative revolution was a major paradigm shift in

geographical studies

The advent of quantitative revolution reshaped most of previously

existing paradigms and research methodologies of the geography
discipline
Kuhn’s Paradigm
Thomas Kuhn, American historian of science, postulated a very
important theory about the growth and development of
science.

According to Kuhn, scientific enquiry is not a well regulated

activity where each generation automatically builds upon the
results achieved by earlier generation.

Kuhn’s ‘paradigm of science’ was defined as “universally

recognised scientific achievements that for a time provide
model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners”.

In other words, a paradigm is “a theory of scientific tasks and

methods which regulates the research of most geographers or
where there is conflict between paradigms of a group of
geographers.
The paradigm tells researchers what they should be looking for
and which are in this particular case ‘geographic’

Thomas Kuhn in 1962 presented ‘The Structure of Scientific

Revolutions’ in where he challenged the world's current
conception of science, based on a steady progression of the
accumulation of new ideas. No!

Science advanced the most by occasional revolutionary

explosions of new knowledge, each revolution triggered by
introduction of new ways of thought called new paradigms.

From Kuhn’s work came the popular use of terms like

“paradigm”, “paradigm shift” and “paradigm change”.
 Paradigm phase 4

Crisis phase with revolution

Paradigm phase 3
Crisis phase with revolution

Paradigm phase 2
Crisis phase with revolution

Paradigm phase 1

Professionalization

Pre-paradigm phase

Development of science
According to Kuhn’s terminology Darwin, geography was in
the pre-paradigm phase until the time of Darwin
Charles Darwin 1809–1882
The first phase of paradigm in geography came with the 19th-
century naturalist Charles Darwin who explored the Theory of
Natural Selection also called Darwinian Theory
Darwinism and Environmental Determinism
Darwinian tradition inspired Friedrich Ratzel to develop the
subject of geography into the first phase of professionalism
which culminated in the deterministic school founded by
Ratzel. Determinism became the first paradigm phase in
geography

Ellen Churchill Semple of the 19thc was of the American

School of Thought and a foremost female geographer of her
time and a leading exponent of environment determinism.
Her 1903 publication “American History and its geographic
conditions” she presented her version of the first volume of
Ratzel’s Anthropogeographie.

In her 1911 book “Influences of Geographic Environment,”

Semple focused on comparing typical people of all stages of
cultural development living under similar geographic
conditions.

If people of different ethnic stocks but similar environments

manifest similar or related social, economic, or historical
development, it was reasonable to infer that such similarities
were due to environment and not to race.

She was against racial inequality as environmental conditions

in the temperate world will lead to specific social, economic, or
historical development different from those in the tropics
During the latter half of the nineteenth century, researchers
attempted to develop geography as a nomothetic or law-making
science
The inductive explanation approach of Carl Ritter was replaced
by the hypothetic-deductive method which was especially a
characteristic of the natural sciences.

Researchers tried to devise a priori models of the structure of

reality which were used to postulate a set of hypotheses which
could be confirmed, corroborated or rejected by testing
empirical data
This calls for quantification in geography

Through the hypothetic-deductive method the method known as

positivism was developed in Vienna during the 1920’s and
1930’s.
Positivism: An objective world with order that is waiting to be
discovered.

This order in geography is described as the spatial patterns of

variations and covariations in the world, to be observed free
of any kind of subjectivity.

Positivism deals with facts and facts equate with what we can
observe.

Positivism has a distinct empiricist tendency which is the idea

that only ‘concrete’ data matters to science.

A neutral observer derives hypotheses on the basis of

observations and then tests those hypotheses and the verified
ones become laws.
The hypothetic-deductive method led human geography to
develop into a model building theoretical science as it deals
with quantifiable phenomenon which seems to have known
situation in time and space

Possibilism: The ruling deterministic paradigm of Ratzel-

Semple-Huntington was challenged by a new possibilist-
regional paradigm developed by the French school of geography
led by Vidal de la Blache.

The possibilist paradigm presented a model where humans

perceive a range of alternative uses they could put in an
environment and select that which best fits their cultural
dispositions.

The study of unique single region was the focus point of

geographical study in this paradigm
It adopted the method called the participating
observation that involved the study of region in order
to identify the uniqueness of the man-environment
relationships

Debates in geography
Geography is a broad, integrative field of enquiry combining
social science, physical and natural science, and humanities.

Like any academic discipline, it is also undergoing continual

change, as new ideas, technologies and real-world
developments challenge existing thinking and research
practice.
Together, this means that geographers have varying and
competing ideas about how to define and delineate appropriate
topics and objects of study, how to design and carry out
geographic research, and what is regarded as valid geographic
knowledge

Perspectives & Models in geography [The 1930s-1940s

(Debates)]

1st Debate – Physical Geography vs. Human Geography

Resolved both Equally Important

The late 1800s & early 1900s

Beginning of Dichotomy[division or contrast between two
things] and Dualism[idea or theory that something (an object,
an idea, or the whole world) is split into two parts] in
Geography.
The study of Human Geography helps to understand
anthropogenic factors in the environment and enhancement
of technological capabilities of Humans

2nd Debate – Environment vs. Man Which is more important?

Determinism vs Possibilism Ratzel’s book – the 1880s –
‘ANTHROPO GEOGRAPHIE

Debate – Physical Geography vs. Human Geography Debate –

Regional Geography (or, special, or particular geography
such as Himalayan study, etc) vs. General or Universal
Geography (General Laws such as for Mountains, Rivers, etc)

Anthropo Geography Ratzel’s 1880’s book Anthropo

Geography (Two Volumes)
Volume 1 – In favor of determinism (It gave him identity)
Volume 2 – In favor of possibilism (inspired french possibilism)

French Possibilism Vidal de la Blache inspired by Volume 2

(Ratzel’s book)

Debate over Environmental Determinism and Possibilism

continued into 1960’s and led to the emergence of some new
concepts in geography.

Spate (1957) proposed a middle ground with the concept of

Probabilism.

Griffith Taylor postulated that the Possibilist paradigm was the

‘Stop and Go Determinism’.

According to him, Determinism & Possibilism do not have any

major differences and are not extreme views.
He felt that the Possibilists built their explanations based on
temperate regions where the environment is indeed less
extreme and provides with several alternative forms of human
occupancy.

But in other parts of the world, the environment is much more

extreme and consequently, its control over human survival is
much greater.

Griffith Taylor used the term ‘stop and go determinism’ to

describe that humans might attempt to change their
environment but the environment would win in the long run and
force humans to adapt and compromise accordingly

1930s-40s Debates
Debate – Between Regional Geography (Special) & Systematic
Geography (General)
Regional Geography – The only description of Regions
possible but no laws can be formed.
Systematic Geography – Laws can be formed.

Debate – Hartshorne (Regional)(Areal

Approach)(Descriptive) vs. Shaffer (Systematic)
(Spatial Approach) (Analytical).

Quantitative Revolution (1940’s – 50’s)

Post-World War II Developments
Lots of Models developed such as Von Thunen Model, Weber’s
Model, etc

Lots of Generalizations & Simplifying Assumptions such as

Isotropic Surface, Rational man, etc
Cons
Laws – Ideal (Normative) and far from reality
Dynamic behavior of man – not taken into account

Critical Revolution (1950s-60s)

Arose due to critique against QR(Quantitative Revolution)

Critical about ideal laws, about Normative assumptions,

spurious generalizations which were believed to increase the
credibility of Geography as a subject
Doesn’t depict reality

2 Branches evolved
-Behavioral Geography
-Humanistic Geography
Behavioural Geography
In favour of law-making, quantification and generalization
Against the model of man as a rational economic man (the
mechanical man has perceptions) Nomothetic approach
Analytical approach
Humanistic Geography
It focuses specifically on the people–place connections (Carl
Rogers and Abraham Maslow), the products of human activity
and it is considered a way to understand those events
considered valuable and meaningful to humans.
Rejects quantification, generalization and law-making
Rejects the nomothetic approach
Every man is unique so No generalized laws possible for all
You just appreciate and acknowledge the diversity
Descriptive approach
Social Relevance Approach (1970’s)

Using geography to resolve social issues and development

Zelinsky (President of the American Association of

Geographers) gave the speech that – Geography must act as
a doctor and give a prescription for problems of society.

2 Schools of thought emerged:

 Radical Approach (Marxist Ideology, Socialism)
 Welfare Approach (Humanism)
 EPISTEMOLOGY OF GEOGRAPHY
Definition and the principles of science
Epistemology is the philosophical study of the nature, origin,
and limits of human knowledge. The term is derived from the
Greek epistēmē (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason, discourse or
science”), and accordingly the field is sometimes referred to as
the theory of knowledge. It is concerned with the mind's
relation to reality.
Nature of knowledge

Reason

Epistemology

Discourse Science
Origin of knowledge Limits of knowledge
In geography, epistemology has three objectives:
 Knowledge: Knowing the definition, nature, origin and limits
 Methodology: Methodology to investigate how knowledge
acquisition has evolved
 Approach:

Knowledge
Knowledge is justified true belief

The origins of knowledge

Knowledge comes from the Greek word, Gnosis, signifying
knowing through observation or experience

An investigation into the origins of knowledge can shed light

on its nature.

Plato was of the view that learning is the development of ideas

buried deep in the soul
 Knowledge

Knowledge, which is Knowledge, which is mere

certain true opinion

knowledge derives from Opinions derive from

the world of timeless the shifting world of
Forms, or essence sensation

Plato concluded that such knowledge is “recollected” by the

soul from an earlier existence.
The Platonic innate idea was further developed by René
Descartes in what is known as Cartesianism. Cartesian
science is a form of rationalism because it holds that
scientific knowledge can be derived a priori from 'innate ideas'
through deductive reasoning.
Cartesian epistemology” is used in a more specific sense
typically ascribed to Descartes, and based on a prima facie
grasp of his texts. It led to introspection being infallible and that
one can secure solid foundations for knowledge.
The prima facie philosophy of Plato influenced the French
scholars and their criminal investigation system. Accepted as
correct until proved otherwise.
From the philosophical and scientific system of René Descartes
it was realized that the study of Human Geography helps to
understand anthropogenic factors in the environment and
enhancement of technological capabilities of Humans. This
philosophy accounted for Industrial Revolution 1760 – 1840.
In epistemology, geography as a science uses quantitative and
qualitative methods in studying the physical and human aspects
for more comprehensive results of a geographic study.
The nature of knowledge
In epistemology, the nature of knowledge is a conceptual issue
i.e., an inquiry into a certain concept or idea.
This is related to how one goes about investigating concepts.
Key Concepts in Geography define the key terms –
location/space, time, place, region, area, scale, landscape -
that inform the language of geography and define the
geographical imagination.
An investigation of the concept of knowledge, then, would
begin by studying uses of knowledge and cognate expressions
in everyday language.

Expressions such as know them, know that, know how, know

where, know why, and know whether, for example, have been
explored in detail, especially since the beginning of the 20th
century.
Limits of knowledge
The limits of knowledge as theorized by Descartes is
about philosophical scepticism and whether it is possible to
know anything at all.
Here comes the central problem of knowledge in epistemology.
It is that of explaining how perception could give us knowledge
or justified true belief about an external world, about things
outside of ourselves.
Within your geographic space, your perception can easily lead
to justified true belief or sound knowledge, which is not very
possible out of your geographic space.
For example, how can the Western world produce more reliable
knowledge about Africa than African themselves.
From Descartes nothing should be accepted without
justification. So revelation is not accepted
Object of science
Scientific knowledge
Scientific knowledge refers to a generalized body of laws
and theories to explain a phenomenon or behavior of interest
that are acquired using the scientific method.
Laws are observed patterns of phenomena or behaviors,
while theories are systematic explanations of the underlying
phenomenon or behavior.
Logic (theory) and evidence (observations) are the two, and
only two, pillars upon which scientific knowledge is based. In
science, theories and observations are interrelated and
cannot exist without each other.
Logic is based on reason. Knowledge is believed to originate
from scholars though this notion is against cultural
versatility.
Knowledge from reason is generalised, though reason has a
cultural, environmental and historical chord.

The 3 pillars of knowledge

Mathematics
It is useful in representing and modelling the world. It helps in creating the analytical abstraction so
that not only figures are retained. Mathematics helps in risk avoidance. Quantification of the
world is through Mathematics. Ex Petroleum in the world.

The 3 pillars of knowledge

Geography Philosophy
Le savoir géographique c’est le discours qui Elle permet de penser et
construit l’image du monde. Une image qui se d’opérationnaliser c’est-à-dire
généralise rationnellement par l’intelligence. de construire dans la raison
NB : Geography needs philosophy and humaine des connaissances. La
mathematics since we collect process and philosophie permet de
analyse data. Quantitative data use figures construire les connaissances.
Scientific knowledge is ‘what you know’. It is dispensed in the
form of pedagogy and Andragogy.

These words are both of Greek origin; pedagogy literally

translates to paidi (child) and ago (guide).

Andragogy, on the other hand, means andras (man) and ago

(guide).

Both words refer to learning strategies – but they each have

their own distinct philosophies.

Pedagogy: The theory of teaching, it is the study of teaching

methods and the aims. It is the teaching of children, or
dependent personalities (learners).
Andragogy is the facilitation learning for adults, who are self-
directed learners.

Andragogy: Instruction for adults needs to focus more on the

process and less on the content being taught.

Strategies such as case studies, role playing, simulations, and

self-evaluation are most useful.

Instructors adopt a role of facilitator or resource rather than

lecturer or grader.

Heutagogy: The management of learning for self-managed

learners.
Competence
Refers to the build up of the capability to use the body of
knowledge and skills in a given domain to accomplish tasks
and goals beyond the educational or training programme.

Competence or skill is closely related to the notion of

proficiency and mastery used in fields such as mathematics
and language (Council of Europe, 2001; Rycroft-Smith &
Boylan, 2019).

A skill includes knowledge, know-how (savoir-faire) and

interpersonal skills (savoir-être). This is the drive to make
learning more relevant to the learners’ lives outside the
classroom, which is also part of strategies to enhance learner
engagement.
Nomothetic and idiographic approaches
Nomothetic and idiographic are terms used by Neo-Kantian
philosopher Wilhelm Windelband to describe two distinct
approaches to knowledge, each one corresponding to a different
intellectual tendency, and each one corresponding to a different
branch of academia.

Nomothetic approach
It is a tendency to generalize. Its philosophical groundings is
typical of effort to derive laws and universal statements that
generalize phenomena and procedures. E.g The 5 stage
development process of Rostow applies to all countries of the
world. Tropical soils are infertile since they cannot support
temperate crops. Gender equality is the best approach to
address women’s access to land. Land titles guarantee
agricultural investment and increased productivity.
The nomothetic approach is attuned to the quantitative and
individualistic capitalist-oriented system, which is neo-liberal in
theory and practice.
The nomothetic approach rightly puts everyone equal before the
law. But in practice, justice is for the powerful and the rich while
the poor and the weak are grappling with injustice

Idiographic approach
In anthropology, idiographic describes the study of a group,
seen as an entity, with specific properties that set it apart from
other groups. Idiographic approach is a tendency to specify,
describe the effort to understand the meaning of contingent,
unique, and often cultural or subjective phenomena.

Africa is different from Europe and Asia or America. The

development agenda for Europe or America must not be the
same for Africa as Jean Emmanuel Pondi theorized in 2021.
The philosophical underpinnings of nomothetic thought are
not different from anthropocentrism with similar effects on
Africa and nature.

The theory of anthropocentrism, is founded on attitudes,

values or practices which promote human interests at the
expense of the interests or well-being of other species or the
environment.

‘At the expense of nonhumans’ makes anthropocentrism,

putting speciesism against human chauvinism.

The conception of human chauvinism is often present in

humanist anthropocentric thought, as represented by the
dominant Western paradigm (Catton and Dunlap 1978).
Hayward argues that anthropocentrism can be
counterproductive in failing to distinguish between legitimate
and illegitimate human interests.

The quantitative and individualistic capitalist-oriented system

makes no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate human
interests as perceived through the lens of resource depletion in
Africa.

The system gives preference to interests of members of their

own species (Whites, superior beings) over the interests of
members of other species (Blacks, inferior beings) for morally
arbitrary reasons.

‘‘Whites” are sentient beings, while Africans are said not to be.
Nature is not also sentient and should be inflicted sufferings for
the well-being of man far off from the site of the nature, with
externalities suffered by the custodians of the nature.
The hypothetico-deductive model or method
It is a proposed description of the scientific method.

According to it, scientific inquiry proceeds by formulating

a hypothesis in a form that can be falsifiable using a test on
observable data where the outcome is not yet known.

The null hypothesis is the falsified form of the alternative

hypothesis

A test outcome that could have and does run contrary to

predictions of the hypothesis is taken as a falsification of the
hypothesis. This is the null form of the hypothesis

A test outcome that could have, but does not run contrary to the
hypothesis corroborates the theory. This is the alternative form
of the hypothesis