Every scientific discipline requires a philosophical explanation. This means that it must address several fundamental questions, as follows:
What is the nature of the discipline? What does it study? In other words, what is its subject matter? And to what extent is it real, tangible, and researchable—whether objective or subjective, apparent, hidden, or virtual?
Why should the discipline exist? What are its existential and ontological necessities? How distinct and unique is its epistemological domain? To what extent does it overlap or intertwine with other scientific disciplines? What are the points of convergence and divergence with other fields? How real or constructed are the phenomena it examines?
What is the ultimate goal of the discipline? What cognitive or practical human needs does it fulfill?
How should the subject of the discipline be studied? What philosophical and cognitive methodologies, as well as research methods and techniques, are (or can be) used in this process? What is the epistemological validity of these methods?
A comprehensive and reasoned response to these questions effectively shapes the theoretical framework and scientific philosophy of the discipline in question. Since geography has long been recognized as one of humanity's cognitive and epistemological domains, its philosophical explanation is essential.
