Definitions of Concepts and Principles

Abstract

Two of Polynov’s contributions to landscape geochemistry were outlined briefly at the end of Chapter 2. This chapter is concerned with definitions of the seven concepts of the discipline of landscape geochemistry. In Part II, each concept is described in a separate chapter (Chapters 6–12.). At the end of Part II, relationships between the basics of the discipline and the four hierarchies that constitute the philosophy are treated in a series of four chapters (Chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16).

“The purpose of scientific thought is successful prediction, which is a prerequisite of understanding. Predictions are made by constructing and extrapolating conceptual models. The construction of a model is a creative act that admits no standard procedure, but the validation of the model follows a regular process called the scientific method. Models are never certain and are always subject to revision, but each new model includes the successful parts of older models. Thus, scientific knowledge is cumulative.”

Marshall Walker, The Nature of Scientific Thought (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1963,) p. 13.