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Humboldt and Ritter Contribution in Modern Geographical thought

  Similarities between Humboldt and Ritter: 

  • Alexander Von Humboldt [ 1769 to 1859] and Carl Ritter [1779-1859], both belonged to Germany and lived in the same period and this period is also known as the " classical period of geography".
  • Alexander Von Humboldt and Carl Ritter, both are the founders of Modern Geographical thoughts.
  • Humboldt and Ritter firmly Established geography as an academic discipline.
  • Carl Ritter was born 10 years after Humboldt's birth, both died in 1859. 

About Humboldt:

  • The full name of Humboldt is Alexander Von Humboldt.
  •  He has mastered several disciplines such as geology, geomorphology, climatology, history, chemistry, etc.
  • He put all his energy into travel + research + understanding the whole system of the universe 
  • He traveled to many parts of the world such as South America, Europe, Russia, and other places with all his geographical instruments such as barometers, telescopes, etc.]

His studied :

  • Earth magnetism
  • Subterranean plants found in underground mines
  • Observed the rock structure of the Alps 
  • Collected around 6,000 plants & rock specimens.
  • Climbed most of the volcanic mountains in Venezuela
  • He was very upset by social inequality


Contribution of Von Humboldt in modern Geographical thought.

He is credited with coining the term “ Parma frost”. He described Parma frost as a permanently frozen solid which was found in Siberia.

He propounded the word "Cosmography".  The main aim of cosmography was to understand the general and whole picture of Universal. Cosmography was divided into two parts, Uranography and Geography.

  • Uranography deals with the celestial bodies of the Cosmos.
  • Geography deals with the terrestrial part of the earth. He is called the pioneer of physical geography.

We can deduce that his thought was close to studying the system approach of geography.

 As per Humboldt “Geography means of comprehending to harmonious unity of multiplicity, living whole, spiritual enjoyment with inner freedom which cannot be destroyed by an external force”. Carl Ritter has the same geographical concept.

As per Humboldt, Geography does not only deal with the study of physical features of the earth but also includes the interrelationship of phenomena between the different components of the earth including the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and human itself. We can deduce, he does not believe in the physical vs human geography dichotomy.

  • He strongly supported the unity of the human race.
  • He believed in the common origin of all races, no race is inferior to others.
  • He also supported humanity as a whole without consideration of religion, nationality, race, and color.
  • Humboldt emphasized the need for careful observation of nature and precise measurement by observation.
  •  Humboldtian geography seems to be the Kantian concept of geography [ geography and anthropology together provide valid knowledge], but no actual proof was in his writing.
  • Humboldt was not sure about the existence of God and he has not mentioned God's word in his writing.

Contribution of Carl Ritter in Modern Geographical Thought

  • As per Carl Ritter, “ Geography is the study of human and nature interaction.
  • He was the pioneer of human geography.
  • He did not travel as much as Humboldt, his geographical thought relied on the field observation of others and thinking of their own.
  • He is a devoutly religious man, he believes “ God created the earth to instruct humans so that they grow from barbarism to worthy citizens of heaven “.
  •  As he is a religious man, he has a deterministic approach towards geography.
  •  He provided a systematic geography of Europe & provided complete systematic. He provided a complete systematic geography of the world in his book “Comparative Geography”.
  • He believed in the principle of unity in diversity between the biotic and abiotic components.
  • In his book "Erdkunde", he emphasized that geography is inseparable from history. Therefore both should be studied together.

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Unknown
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1 December 2021 at 13:15 ×

Great notes.. thanks a lot .

Congrats bro Unknown you got PERTAMAX...! hehehehe...
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