ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses exclusively on the words and ideas of human geographers in that it will seek to outline some of the philosophical issues and debates conducted within recent and contemporary Anglo-American human geography. It seeks to provide some insights as to why philosophy might matter, both to the conduct of human geography and more widely. To assist in doing this, the chapter makes use of a distinction between epistemology and ontology to differentiate and discuss a range of philosophies which have been of significance within human geography or at least Anglo-American human geography since the mid-twentieth century. Ontologies refer to 'theories of what exists' and epistemologies to 'theories of how we can know what exists'. Philosophies may be seen to reflect particular sets of ontologies and epistemologies, although the emphasis placed on and degree of interconnection between epistemology and ontology can vary considerably between philosophies, as should become evident through the course of the chapter.
