Reflection on perceptions, conceptions, representations and affections, or the quadrature of qualitative methods in geography
Human geographers devote themselves to understanding as subtly as possible the nature of the relationships that we have with Nature and Territory, by exploring what the concerned stakeholders or groups of stakeholders ‘‘think’’ of those relationships. And yet, these ‘‘thoughts’’ can come from very distinct registers of significance, depending on whether they are the result of perceptions, representations, conceptions or affections. These processes are often used interchangeably, which creates a problem attributable to the limited range and acuteness of geographers’ analysis and, more importantly, to the lack of an approach which adequately integrates all of them. This issue is significant since it diminishes the coherence of reflections which refer to one of these four processes, especially when it comes to truly grasping the ‘‘opinions’’ of the stakeholders involved and assessing the validity of the results. In order to resolve these difficulties and shortcomings in our comprehension of the subjective relationships that human beings have with their natural or constructed environments, this article will try to highlight and articulate the principal modalities and aims structuring perceptions, representations, conceptions and affections.