Some Notes on Landscape (paysage) and Mode of Life (genre de vie)

Abstract

On the nature of geography, German geographers have spoken of “Landschaft, ” while French ones have preferred to describe “paysages humanises” (humenized landscapes) which reflect modes of life (genres de vie). “Landschaft” and “genre de vie” are often used in explaining the nature of geography in each country. But in their practical works, they describe observed landscapes at first, and next, explain the functions which constitute them. Then, we can say that the landscape is a mirror of geographic functions. In human geography, these functions are human activities. Considering the landscapes as a morphological aspect of geographic phenomena, and the modes of life as a functional aspect of them, we may be able to consolidate German and French method of study.French geographers regard these activities as genre de vie of human groupes. Human regions are, then, considered as changing frame works of them. From such a point of view, we examined some works of French geographers: P. Vidal de la Blache, A. Demangeon, C. Vallaux, M. Sorre. Although there are many differences in nuance, they agree to regard landscapes as a creation of human activities, and all of them research the human groupes as a creator.Nowadays, some French geographers study the landscapes themselves (A. Meynier: Les paysages agraires), others do all sorts of centres constituting landscapes (Clozier: La gare du Nord; M. Rochefort: L'organisation urbaine de l'Asace), others study the human groupes as economic-social system (J. Labasse: Les capitaux et la region, P. George: Questions de geographie de la population), and some others describe the humanized landscapes (M. Sorre: L'homme sur la terre). Hereafter, French geographers will be engaged in researching the human groupes more in details.At any rate, the mode of life is a functional aspect of human groupes, and the landscape is its effect which canditions them.