Geography is a basic science that is studied when we are in high school (SMA), this knowledge about geography is summarized by the author in an article that discusses the understanding according to experts as well as concepts and study material from geography. Let’s start with the general understanding of geography below.
Etymologically, the word geography comes from the Greek, geo meaning earth and graphein meaning writing. The merging of the two words then forms ‘ geography ‘.
The general understanding of geography is the science of the earth and all the principles, phenomena and aspects related to human life. Both caused by nature and by human activity.
Geography is a branch of science that is in great demand worldwide. Its important geographical position makes many scientists study it. In the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), geography is the science that discusses the earth’s surface, climate, population, flora, fauna, and the results obtained from the earth.
Understanding Geography According to Experts
1. Erathosthenes
The term geography was first introduced by Eratosthenes (276–104 BC). Geography according to Eratosthenes is writing about the shape of the earth’s surface. The term or word geography comes from the Greek, namely geo which means earth and graphien which means writing. Thus forming the word geography and developed into a science that discusses the shape of the earth’s surface.
2. Claudius Ptolemaeus
An astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolomaeus (87–150 AD) defined geography as a presentation through maps that present part or all of the earth’s surface.
3. Immanuel Kant
A geographer and philosopher, Immanuel Kant (1724–1821). According to Kant, geography is very close to philosophy, so Kant is interested in geography. According to him, geography is a science and the object of study is objects, things, or symptoms that are spread over areas on the earth’s surface.
4. Lobeck
According to Lobeck, geography is the science of the relationships that form between life and its surroundings.
5. Preston E. James
According to Preston E. James, geography is the mother of all sciences .
6. Karl Ritter
According to Karl Ritter, geography is the study of the earth as a place for human life. The scope of study of geography includes various phenomena that exist and occur on the surface of the earth.
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7. Friedrich Ratzel
In his book entitled Politische Geographie. Friedrich Ratzel put forward a concept related to geography which was named Lebensraum which means a geographical area as a place of life for a people.
8. Elsworth Huntington
Huntington put forward a theory related to geography in which survival is strongly influenced by climate. This theory made Elsworth Huntington famous as a climate determinist (seeing climate as a determinant of life). Elsworth Huntington stated that geography is the study of phenomena that exist on the surface of the earth and the people who inhabit it.
9. Harstone
According to Harstone, geography is the science of the reality of the differentiation of the earth’s surface and what it is, not only in the sense of understanding differences in certain matters, but also in the sense of a combination as a whole or as a whole regarding phenomena that exist in every place different from the conditions in other places. other.
10.Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt argues that geography is identical or similar to physical geography. Alexander explained the relationship between the earth and the sun and the behavior of the earth in space, on weather phenomena and climates in the world, the types of the Earth’s surface and the processes that occur and matters relating to the hydrosphere and biosphere.
11. Ferdinand Von Richthofen
Ferdinand Von Richthofen defines geography as a science regarding the symptoms and characteristics of the earth’s surface and the people who live in it and are arranged based on their location.
12. According to Paul Vidal de la Blache
Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845–1918) was a French geographer. Vidal is a pioneer of posibilism in geography. Posibilism is a theory which states that even though the environment has set certain constraints or limitations, culture is determined by social conditions.
Vidal said emphatically that the environment offers several possibilities for humans to live and develop. It was on this basis that Vidal put forward a concept called genre de vie or mode of live or in Indonesian means “way of life”. In the concept put forward by Vidal, geography is defined as the science of the production process carried out by humans against the possibilities offered by nature.
13, Halford Mackinder
Halford Mackinder argues, geography is a science whose main function is to investigate human interaction in society and the environment which differ according to their location.
14. Richard Hartshorne
Geography according to Richard Hartshorne is a science that is able and able to explain the variable properties of the earth’s surface in a thorough, orderly, and rational manner.
15. Yeates and Hagget
In the opinion of Yeates and Hagget, geography is a science that plays a role in the development of a location and is influenced by the properties that exist on the surface of the earth for various rational reasons.
16. Vernor E. Finch and Glen Trewartha
Vernor and Glen argue that geography is an explanation that analyzes the surface of the earth and its view of things that are always changing.
17. Strabo
Strabo expressed the opinion that geography is closely related to the characteristics of places that pay attention to the relationship between various places as a whole. Geography, from the beginning of its development, started from telling about other regions, then more specifically, and already has the concept of a region or area that already has characteristics and relationships between regions.
18. John Hanrath
The definition of geography according to Hanrath is a science that investigates the distribution of physical, biological and anthropological symptoms in space on the earth’s surface and other phenomena according to the size of values, motives whose results can then be compared.
19. James E. Preston
Preston put forward the definition of geography, which is a science related to human interrelationships with their habitat and places more emphasis on interrelationships between humans.
20. Fielding
According to Fielding, geography is the study of the location and arrangement of phenomena that occur and exist on the earth’s surface and the processes that cause the distribution of these phenomena.
21. Sidney E. Ekblaw and Donald JD Mulkerne
Sidney and Donald define geography as the study of the earth and its life which influences the way people live, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the houses they build, and the recreational activities they usually enjoy.
22. Halima Khan
According to Halim Khan, geography is the natural and social environment in the form of an area to carry out an activity, describe, analyze, and enjoy human behavior on earth for their survival.
23. Ulman
According to Ullman, geography is an interaction between spaces. The definition put forward by Ullman states that geography is related to space on the surface of the Earth.
24. Daljoeni
Daldjoeni is known for his books on geography. According to Daldjoeni, geography is a science that teaches humans about several scopes consisting of three main things, namely spatial coverage (space), ecological coverage (conditions), and region coverage (regions).
In terms of spatial, geography explains the distribution of natural phenomena, both natural and human on Earth. Then in terms of ecology, geography contains how humans must be able to adapt to their environment. In terms of region, geography contains areas as human habitation based on physiographical units.
25. Basri Mustofa
Basri Mustofa believes that geography is the science of similarities and differences, as well as geosphere phenomena from a regional and environmental perspective in a spatial context.
26. Herioso Setiyono
In 1996, Herioso Setiyono expressed his opinion regarding the notion of geography. According to Herioso, geography is the science of the mutual relationship between humans and their environment which refers to horizontal distribution patterns on the earth’s surface.
27. Harris
In 2012, Haris explained the meaning of geography, according to him geography is a field of science that examines all aspects on the surface of the Earth with spatial or spatial concepts for the utilization of developments on the surface of the Earth.
28. I Made Sandy
According to Sandy, geography is a science that seeks to express, discover, explain and understand the similarities and differences that exist in the earth’s surface. Sandy emphasized that geography is more focused on a spatial perspective.
29. Indonesian Geographic Association (IGI) Workshop Seminar in Semarang 1988
Based on the results of the Workshop of the Indonesian Geographic Association (IGI) in Semarang in 1988, IGI formulated the notion of Geography as the science of similarities and differences in geosphere phenomena with a regional or environmental point of view in a spatial context.
30. Paul Claval
Paul explained that geographical phenomena are related to spatial relations.
31. UNESCO
UNESCO divides the notion of geography into 3 parts, consisting of:
- One synthetic agent
- A study of spatial relations
- Science in land use
32. James Fairgrive
James expressed the opinion that geography has educational value, namely educating people to be able to think critically and be responsible for the world’s progress.
33. John Alexander
John expressed the opinion that geography is closely related to location factors that have certain characteristics and the relationship between regions as a whole.
34. Barlow
According to Barlow, geography is a science that discusses and learns about processes that have a relationship with the environment. This relationship is explained by Barlow as natural phenomena and related natural patterns which will be discussed.
35. P Huggett, R. Hartshorne
Huggett and Hartshorne argue that geography is concerned with providing a thorough, orderly and rational description of the variable nature of the earth’s surface.
Based on the opinions of experts on the definition of geography above, it can be concluded that geography does not only discuss the physical nature of the earth and parts of the universe, but includes all phenomena that exist on the surface of the earth.
These phenomena can be physical phenomena or social phenomena. Basically, the core of the study of geography is the reciprocal relationship between humans and their environment. From some of the things above, thus giving rise to the term if geography is referred to as the mother of science ” Mother’s of Science “.
Objects of Geographical Studies and Their Analysis
The object of study of geography itself is material objects and formal objects. Material objects, namely geosphere phenomena which include inanimate objects and living things on earth and their environment. The geosphere is one of the natural phenomena related to its elements which consists of five layers, namely the atmosphere (the layer that protects the planets of the solar system from solar radiation.
the atmosphere layer prevents extreme temperatures on earth), lithosphere (the outermost layer of the earth’s structure), hydrosphere (as the name implies, this layer is in the form of waters that are on the planet or near the planet, such as rivers, seas, lakes and so on) , the biosphere (this layer includes land, air and water which affect biotic processes), and the anthroposphere (the central theme layer).
The atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere discuss inanimate matter on earth. The atmosphere discusses the air that envelops the earth, the lithosphere discusses the earth’s crust, while the hydrosphere discusses water. The biosphere and anthroposphere discuss living things on earth. The biosphere deals with animals and plants, while the anthroposphere deals with humans.
The formal object of geography discusses the human perspective on all materials on earth. This perspective is accompanied by a way of thinking and analyzing. The approach used regarding a perspective on material objects is through analysis. Analysis that can be applied in geography is spatial analysis, environmental analysis, and regional analysis.
- Spatial analysis or spatial analysis is a geographical approach to the diversity of the earth’s surface which is carried out by examining every spatial aspect. These aspects include location factors, natural conditions factors and social and cultural conditions of the community.
- Environmental analysis or ecology is one of the principles or sub-disciplines in biology that discusses the salient inter-relationships between living things and their environment. This ecological analysis examines the symptoms of interaction and inter-relationships between fiscal or natural components and non-physical or social components.
- Regional analysis or regional complex analysis is an approach that analyzes regional complexes by comparing the areas of the earth’s surface by paying attention to the spatial aspects and environmental aspects of each region.
Geography which is the science of studying the interrelationships between humans and their environment has various important data regarding knowledge of geography that must be understood and can be studied through the Dictionary of Geographical Terms which is below.
Geography Concept
Geography is encompassed by the following concepts,
- Location , is a concept regarding the existence of an object that exists on earth and is related to a place, location or area. This concept is divided into two, namely the concept of absolute location, which can be known by looking at latitude and longitude. As well as the concept of relative location, this location concept is used to determine geographic location.
- Distance, the concept of distance is divided into two, namely the concept of absolute distance and the concept of relative distance. The concept of absolute distance is expressed in units of meters or kilometers, while the concept of relative distance is expressed in units of time.
- Morphology is the concept of the shape of the earth’s surface. The concept of morphology connects natural processes and their relationship with activities carried out by humans.
- Affordability , is the ease of accessing mileage and is related to facilities and infrastructure.
- Patterns, forms of interaction between humans and the surrounding natural environment. This pattern is formed through the interaction between the environment around humans and other environments.
- Agglomeration, the concept of population grouping based on human activities in an area.
- Use value , is relative and related to the benefits provided by an area on earth to living things.
- Interdependence, is a concept regarding the nature of interdependence between one region and another. Each region can affect as well as be affected by other regions or regions.
- Area differentiation , related to comparisons between regions that can be known through differences.
- Room linkage, is a bond or connection that can explain the level of inter-regional spatial linkages that occur as a result of interaction.
To further explore the concept of geography and other geography that is important to understand, the Class 11 High School Geography book below can be studied by Sinaumed’s.
That is the understanding, object of study, analysis and geographical concepts that the author has summarized through various sources.
Geography Learning Books
1. Geography Dictionary (Thematic & Visual Edition)
2. Population Geography
Knowledge of the definition of geography according to experts can provide readers with knowledge about the ins and outs of the earth’s surface, know the distribution of natural resources on earth, as a guide for development, be able to know global climates, be able to study the distribution of flora and fauna and know the condition of the earth’s surface.