Geography is a science whose main object of study is the geographic space that corresponds to the stage of human achievements. Man has always had a keen curiosity about the places where human and man's relationships with nature develop, mainly in order to achieve their interests.
The knowledge of the land and all the existing dynamics is an intrinsic objective of geographic science. This has its beginning parallel to the emergence of man, however, its condition of science only occurred with the birth of the Greek civilization, in which they existed thinkers who at that time encompassed diverse knowledge of different themes, among them Pythagoras and Aristotle who already had conviction about the spherical shape of the planet.
Geography takes on several meanings: in a generic way we say that geo means Earth and spelling, description, that is, description of the Earth. This describes all the elements contained on the planet's surface such as atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere that makes up the biosphere or sphere of life (where life develops), in addition to the interaction of these elements with beings alive.
The study of geography in its initial phase focuses only on natural elements, later research uniting physical and social aspects were established, referring to anthropic action on space Natural. From that moment on, the systematic study of societies, such as the form of economic and social organization, the distribution of the population in the world and in the countries, also began. cultures, environmental problems arising from human production, in addition to knowing the resources available in nature that are useful for productive activities (industry and farming). Thus, the geographic study leads to the survey of data on natural elements that directly affect human life such as climate, relief, vegetation, hydrography, among others.
Modern geography has as its precursor Humbold, who was based on empiricism; later, several other thinkers emerged who added different knowledge and concepts that served to enrich science.
Some specialties of geographical science:
Physical geography: focuses on the study of natural characteristics, such as climate, vegetation, hydrography, relief and the impacts resulting from exploration.
Human Geography: aims to study population dynamics and their particularities.
Economic Geography: study of all economic relations carried out in the world and their flows.
Cultural Geography: focuses attention on the cultural identity of people and places.
Political Geography: study of political power relations and their results.
Medical Geography: performs mapping of disease outbreaks and their distribution in geographic space.
The first descriptions considered to be geographical came from traveler and merchant records.
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By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FRANCISCO, Wagner de Cerqueira and. "Concepts of Geography"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/conceitos-geografia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
