THE 



POPULAR SCIENCE 



MONTHLY. 



FEBRUARY, 1911 



THE DISCIPLINARY VALUE OF GEOGKAPHY 



Bx Pbofessoe W. M. DAVIS 



HABVAED UNIVERSITY 



Part I. The Science of Geographical Investigation - 

 Educational Values. — Any study that is worthy of a place in a uni- 

 versity must have a value of its own, must stand in a serviceable relation 

 to other subjects, and must offer a serious mental discipline for those 

 who follow it. The modern treatment of geography by explanatory 

 instead of by empirical methods, and in view of an evolutionary in- 

 stead of a teleological philosophy, satisfies all these requirements. 

 That geography has a value of its own is sufficiently indicated by the 

 abundance of useful and interesting material that an otherwise well- 

 prepared student may acquire from it, and from no other source. That 

 it stands in a serviceable relation to other subjects is proved by the 

 fundamental position that it occupies with respect to biology and 

 history, as well as to commerce and diplomacy. That it provides a 

 serious mental discipline will, it is hoped, be apparent to any one who 

 cares to read the following pages. A discussion of the science of 

 geographical investigation, here presented with particular respect to the 

 study of land forms, but equally applicable to other divisions of the 

 subject, will show that geography, like various other sciences, gives 

 abundant exercise to various mental faculties, such as observation, in- 

 vention, deduction, comparison and judgment; while a consideration 

 of the art of geographical presentation will show that geography, like 

 other sciences, encourages the development of various styles of compo- 

 sition, such as narrative, inductive, analytical, systematic and regional, 

 each of which is particularly well adapted to the exposition of certain 

 geographical problems. 



The Student and the World. — It has been well remarked by an ex- 

 perienced university professor, that an advanced student would profit 

 voL.iiixvni. — 8. 



