Geografía e complexidade

The main subject of this article is the debate about the possibilities of construction of integrated approaches between nature and culture in the social sciences.

For the development of this article, two quite illustrative moments of the arguments, interests and challenges that accompanied recent history of the scientific development, in a general way, and of the social sciences, in particular, have been chosen.

One of those moments refers to the debates which happened, at the end of the last century, on the works produced by Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904), especially the formulations presented in his Anthropogeographie (1882-91), and his proposals of disciplinary integration and hologeical approaches of the terrestrial complex.

The other moment refers to the current efforts of thinkers from several areas and fields of knowledge, who invest in the construction of sciences of complexity and the promotion of transdisciplinary attitudes.

As a result of the explanation of both moments, the article is aimed at evidencing the contributions some of the ratzelian formulations can add to the current debate around the perspectives for the scientific knowledge as a tributary of the complexity.