Geography, Marx and the Concept of Nature

Although “nature” is one of the most commonly invoked concepts in science (natural or social), i t has in recent years been the subject of surprisingly little methodological discussion. An understanding of nature is fundamental to the manner in which science sees and conducts itself, yet the concept is generally taken for granted. Even the current enthusiasm to write introspective philosophies, sociologies and histories, science has left the stone of “nature” unturned. The neglect is not too difficult to explain; it is wholly consistent with the contemporary practice and selfimage of science. Though not exclusive, the positivist tradition dominates orthodox science, and positivism ”presupposes (among other things) that nature exists in and for itself, external to human activity. Thus we can know nature only by perceiving its facts and eventually discovering its laws. Nature is constituted as an external repository of facts that live according to autonomous natural laws. Mystery exists in nature only to the extent that science has not yet discovered these facts and laws.