The aim of the article is to analyse the condition of epistemology
in geography in the era of rapidly advancing information technologies. The
focal points of the article are the epistemological consequences of the
geographical information systems (GIS). It is argued that the widely spread
application of GIS in geography has meant the strengthening of positivist
epistemology. The positivist epistemology in GIS is based on the logic of
advancing information technology and is thus labelled as technopositivism.
Based on the reading of books concerning the methodology of GIS the article
argues that the technopositivist geography is based on a triad of knowledge
creation consisting of the logic of epistemology, logic of scientific inquiry
and logic of knowledge creation. The epistemological logic is based on an implicit
positivist worldview. The logic of scientific inquiry is based on the
assumption that by adapting more efficient technological solutions the research
provides a more coherent picture of the objects under scrutiny. The logic of
knowledge creation is based on the so-called discourse of accuracy and
completeness in which it is assumed that more efficient technological
procedures lead to a more complete knowledge of the object of research.
Paradoxically, this discourse of accuracy and completeness leads back to the
epistemological logic and strengthens the implicit positivist assumptions.