Advantages Of Positivism In Physical Geography

Physical geographers apply the positivist approach in trying to understand the physical world. Bennett defines positivism as “a philosophy of meaning, of what you say that something is true, when you offer it as something which others must also accept because it is, according to some allegedly neutral standard true” (2009, 310). In this paper the way in which geographers use the positivist theory to understand the physical world will be discussed along with the advantages and limitations of using this method.

There are a host of factors involved in the positivistic approach to physical geography. Physical geography is viewed by many as being hands on work with less theory. Chorley said “Whenever anyone mentions theory to a geomorphologist, he instinctively reaches for his soil auger” (R.J Chorley 1978). Physical geographers are viewed as always being out in the field doing their own research and not sitting

Positivism in physical geography is applied through a number of steps: establish research problem, establishing data sources: primary and secondary sources, selecting samples: random and not-random and methods of analysis: statistical techniques. In physical geography the positivistic approach is normally applied through the scientific method, but this is not the only way in which the positivistic approach is applied. There is also an aspect of realism to the positivistic approach as geographers need to assume there is an external reality that is capable of being examined. A careful measurement should be taken as measurement often alters measured entity. Through positivism physical geographers use reductionalism, which is done by only picking a representation of variables to observe and measure. This helps when trying to make simple a complex world. Probing reality and triangulation may be used “triangulation through different instruments upon the same phenomenon can increase the confidence researchers have in the reality of that phenomenon” (Inkpen