On People, Paradigms, and 'Progress' in Geography

The notion of ‘paradigm’ exercises a growing appeal among historians and commentators on geographic thought. (Stoddart, 1967; Whitehand, 1970, 1971; Chorley, 1974; Berry, 1974). As with ‘peneplain’ a few generations ago it offers an illusion of clarity yet remains sufficiently vague and analytically elusive to occupy our imaginations for a long time. The theory of scientific revolutions has provoked a virtual cacophony of protest and acclaim which was exposed several latent conflicts and uncertainties in the history and philosophy of science. (Kuhn, 1962; Lakatos and Musgrave, 1970). What emerges from this din with resounding clarity, however, is stronger evidence than before that the evolution of scientific ideas cannot be appreciated without a closer scrutiny of their social, ideological, and political milieux.