Abstract
My thesis is that geography can speak to philosophy, that is, construed as either intellectual paradigm or as a discipline making knowledge claims (statements that are true), geography can help a culture in crisis reweave its metaphysical woof and warp and repair its tattered sociological and historical fabric. As someone unschooled in the methods of geography, as well as one who stands outside the community of gepgraphers who define the practice of normal science, my claims will likely seem altogether too rosy, unguarded, even reckless. Yet I find in those geographers who inspire me, the Glackens, Sauers and Meinigs, and so on, sonthing that is palpably - indeed, cosmologically - real and something fundamental to any viable - indeed, sustainable - sense of history. In short, I find in geography what philosophy, with precious few exceptions, altogether lacks: a sense of place, of the land, of the great sweeps of climate and vegetation, of water and mountains, and all those other essentials that force upon us the basic truth that humans are of and about earth. This premiss, so fundamental to a geographical paradigm, offers one possibility of resolving or contributing to the resolution of cultural crisis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 373-388 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Ecumene |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Political Science and International Relations
Cite this
Geography in a time of cultural crisis : helping philosophy find its place. / Oelschlaeger, Max.
In: Ecumene, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1997, p. 373-388.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Geography in a time of cultural crisis
T2 - helping philosophy find its place
AU - Oelschlaeger, Max
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - My thesis is that geography can speak to philosophy, that is, construed as either intellectual paradigm or as a discipline making knowledge claims (statements that are true), geography can help a culture in crisis reweave its metaphysical woof and warp and repair its tattered sociological and historical fabric. As someone unschooled in the methods of geography, as well as one who stands outside the community of gepgraphers who define the practice of normal science, my claims will likely seem altogether too rosy, unguarded, even reckless. Yet I find in those geographers who inspire me, the Glackens, Sauers and Meinigs, and so on, sonthing that is palpably - indeed, cosmologically - real and something fundamental to any viable - indeed, sustainable - sense of history. In short, I find in geography what philosophy, with precious few exceptions, altogether lacks: a sense of place, of the land, of the great sweeps of climate and vegetation, of water and mountains, and all those other essentials that force upon us the basic truth that humans are of and about earth. This premiss, so fundamental to a geographical paradigm, offers one possibility of resolving or contributing to the resolution of cultural crisis.
AB - My thesis is that geography can speak to philosophy, that is, construed as either intellectual paradigm or as a discipline making knowledge claims (statements that are true), geography can help a culture in crisis reweave its metaphysical woof and warp and repair its tattered sociological and historical fabric. As someone unschooled in the methods of geography, as well as one who stands outside the community of gepgraphers who define the practice of normal science, my claims will likely seem altogether too rosy, unguarded, even reckless. Yet I find in those geographers who inspire me, the Glackens, Sauers and Meinigs, and so on, sonthing that is palpably - indeed, cosmologically - real and something fundamental to any viable - indeed, sustainable - sense of history. In short, I find in geography what philosophy, with precious few exceptions, altogether lacks: a sense of place, of the land, of the great sweeps of climate and vegetation, of water and mountains, and all those other essentials that force upon us the basic truth that humans are of and about earth. This premiss, so fundamental to a geographical paradigm, offers one possibility of resolving or contributing to the resolution of cultural crisis.
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M3 - Article
VL - 4
SP - 373
EP - 388
JO - Cultural Geographies
JF - Cultural Geographies
SN - 1474-4740
IS - 4
ER -