Epistemological criticism on sociology of knowledge view in geography.

The sociology of knowledge studies the relationship between "thought" and "society" and connects the "studied ideas" to their "socio-historical contexts"; moreover, it considers different scientific and professional collections of thought as the result of their cultural and social contexts. Furthermore, it is said to believe in the social determination of knowledge. This view has affected critical theories and schools in geography, and has been considered as one of the basic principles of these schools. Based on the teachings of this view, all facts and realities are social constructs and change and evolve with alteration and evolution of social structures. The current paper, which deals with the epistemological criticism on the principles and assumptions of this view, has been written in a descriptive-analytical (logical) method and critical rationalism point of view indicates that this view ultimately leads to historicism, the mix of knowledge and value, relativism, the lack of objectivity and validation of propositions and statements, and the obstruction of criticism, thus through that the obtaining scientific, valid and objective geography is not possible. In addition, by dividing the sciences into real and credits categories, it was shown that the credits in geography are of the type of rational credits (secondary philosophical concepts) and only special after-society credits that do not have an external source of abstraction (pure credits) are the result of social determination and vary from one society to another (relative). Therefore, the nature and content of geography is free from the effect of social, historical and material factors (sociology of knowledge); moreover, geography cannot be considered a social determinant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]