The haunting of saloman's house: geography and the limits of science

Summary The search for scientific status in geography, particularly in human geography, is described as part of a special type of Utopianism which may have diverted us from the identification and pursuit of more appropriate and rewarding forms of professionalism. In this centenary year of Griffith Taylor's birth Australian geographers might seriously consider some temporary ‘disengagement’ from the first world of academia in order to address the special problems and opportunities of our own situation. Selected ‘strategies of liberation’ are therefore presented in a common‐sense agenda, and the intention is to promote an urgent clarification and ‘convivial’ renewal of our professional involvement.