Some remarks on the notions of ‘structure’ and ‘system’ in geography

François Durand-Dastès (1) , Olivier Dollfus

1 GC (UMR_8504) - Géographie-cités

The notions of structure and system are not unfamiliar to geographers, as it may be shown by the use they have made for quite a long time of agricultural or geological structure, and of erosion or crop systems. However, there are a few uncertainties in definitions, and these terms are used with different meanings, according to the objects they define, or to the different authors who use them. On the other hand, in some scientific fields the notions of structure and system are subject to a considerable effort of reflection, and they take quite a lot of space in epistemological work. Those studies have established a few important themes and rules-one could say grammatical rules-in which some scholars see better possibilities for interdisciplinary communication, perhaps even for scientific unification. Maybe, geographers could learn a good deal from the work done by those who have been farther than themselves in that field. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that geographers have used structures and systems without saying so, or even without knowing it, just as Molière's M. Jourdain used prose. A more conscious use of the concepts and rules of that language could lead to a certain degree of clarification, to better and more precise formulations. The latter, as we have been able to see in our teaching activities, have great advantages as far as pedagogy is concerned, which cannot be neglected. But they can also be of great help in asking a great number of questions, and turn some new light on problems such as explanation in geography. IOn Some Imprecisions The language of geographers seems to fulfil rather badly its function of concept clarification, as far as structures and systems are concerned. This vagueness is related to a similar vagueness in reflection, and inhibits factual formalisation. This can be shown very clearly by looking at the Dictionary of Geography edited in 1970 by P. GEORGE. The lack of a general definition of both terms is very conspicuous. They are only mentioned with reference to particular fields of knowledge. For instance, in physical geography, the only references are those concerning geological structure ("the setting of rocks in the earth's crust"), petrographic structure ("macroscopic setting of minerals and rock elements"). There is a somewhat more elaborate effort to use the notion of structure in human geography. But here also the word is only used specifically. Agricultural structure is defined after A. MEYNIER (1958), as "the set of social and real estate conditions in rural regions", or after A. CHOLLEY (1942) as "a complex of physical, biological and human conditions, deeply involved in interaction processes, that complex being comprehensive of all the aspects of rural life". Lastly, for P. GEORGE, "the agricultural structure is the set of data relative to morphological aspects of settlement and to the qualitative

Mots clés: Structuralism; System; Epistemology; Geography

Mots clés: Structuralisme; systèmes; Epistémologie; Géographie

Domaines: Géographie

François Durand-Dastès, Olivier Dollfus. Some remarks on the notions of ‘structure’ and ‘system’ in geography. Geoforum, 1975, 6 (2), pp.83-94. ⟨10.1016/0016-7185(75)90078-0⟩. ⟨hal-02446798⟩