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GEOGRAPHY AS A DISCIPLINE 3 Puttogether,theymeandescriptionoftheearth. changing earth and untiring and ever-active The earth has always been seen as the abode human beings. Primitive human societies were of human beings and thus, scholars defined directly dependent on their immediate geography as, “the description of the earth as environment. Geography, thus, is concerned the abode of human beings”. You are aware of with the study of Nature and Human the fact that reality is always multifaceted andinteractions as an integrated whole. ‘Human’ the ‘earth’ is also multi-dimensional, that is is an integral part of ‘nature’ and ‘nature’ has why many disciplines from natural sciences theimprintsof‘human’.‘Nature’hasinfluenced such as geology, pedology, oceanography, differentaspectsofhumanlife.Itsimprintscan botany, zoology and meteorology and a be noticed on food, clothing, shelter and number of sister disciplines in social sciences occupation. Human beings have come to terms such as economics, history, sociology, politicalwith nature through adaptation and science, anthropology, etc. study different modification. Asyoualreadyknow,thepresent aspects of the earth’s surface. Geography is society has passed the stage of primitive different from other sciences in its subject societies, which were directly dependent on matter and methodology but at the same time, their immediate physical environment for it is closely related to other disciplines. sustenance. Present societies have modified Geography derives its data base from all the their natural environment by inventing and natural and social sciences and attempts their using technology and thus, have expanded the synthesis. horizon of their operation by appropriating and We have noted that there exist variations utilisingtheresourcesprovidedbynature.With over the surface of the earth in its physical asthegradualdevelopmentoftechnology,human well as cultural environment. A number of beings were able to loosen the shackles of their phenomenaaresimilarandmanyaredissimilar. physical environment. Technology helped in It was, therefore, logical to perceive geographyreducing the harshness of labour, increased as the study of areal differentiation. Thus, labour efficiency and provided leisure to geography was perceived to study all those human beings to attend to the higher needs of phenomena which vary over space. life. It also increased the scale of production Geographers do not study only the variations and the mobility of labour. in the phenomena over the earth’s surface The interaction between the physical (space) but also study the associations with environment and human beings has been very the other factors which cause these variations. succinctly described by a poet in the following For example, cropping patterns differ from dialogue between ‘human’ and ‘nature’ (God). region to region but this variation in cropping You created the soil, I created the cup, you pattern, as a phenomenon, is related to created night, I created the lamp. You created variations in soils, climates, demands in the wilderness, hilly terrains and deserts; I market, capacity of the farmer to invest and created flower beds and gardens. Human technological inputs available to her/him. beings have claimed their contribution using Thus, the concern of geography is to find out natural resources. With the help of technology, the causal relationship between any two human beings moved from the stage of phenomena or between more than one necessity to a stage of freedom. They have put phenomenon. their imprints everywhere and created new A geographer explains the phenomena in possibilitiesincollaborationwithnature.Thus, a frame of cause and effect relationship, as it we now find humanised nature and does not only help in interpretation but also naturalised human beings and geography foresees the phenomena in future. studies this interactive relationship. The space The geographical phenomena, both the got organised with the help of the means of physical and human, are not static but highly transportation and communication network. dynamic. They change over time as a result of The links (routes) and nodes (settlements of all the interactive processes between ever typesandhierarchies)integratedthespaceand Reprint 2026-27