Barbara Zahnen, Berlin: Lesen, Zeitlichkeit und das Geographische der Physischen Geographie

Reading, temporality and the ‘geographicality’ of physical geography

This article makes a contribution to the revision of the concept of geography. It is part of the objective of this revision to enable a determination of the position of physical geography in relation to other earth sciences. Inspired by hermeneutic phenomenology, the discussion takes as its starting point the question of what geography means (heißt), moving on to the issue of reading geographical texts. The latter is discussed with regard to differentiating between the primacy of the writing or scripture (Primat der Schrift) and the primacy of the picture (Primat des Bildes) and the respective consequences for the practice of physical geography or earth sciences. This reveals a ‘pictoriality’ (Bildlichkeit) of physical geographical texts which has not yet been addressed: This ‘pictoriality’ results from the temporality of human experience and bears witness to an implicit or tacit form of knowledge which finds expression in a feel for transitions of the earth’s natural appearances. These reflections are made with the aid of Alexander von Humboldt’s essay “Ueber den Einfluss der Abweichung der Sonne auf den Anfang der Aequatorial-Regen” (“On the influence of the deviation of the sun on the onset of the equatorial rains”; Humboldt 1818b).

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