A Philosophy of Walking
Interspersed with chapters detailing the biographies of philosophers and their perambulations are chapters looking at how walking gives us a sense of freedom, helps us appreciate the world around us in a way that is quiet and peaceful. Walking alone, we set our own pace, and are alone with our own thoughts or a simple sense of being present in the moment. Walking can help us hear our own soul and find the essence of who or what we truly are, says the author. Walking can also help us get in touch with nature and can be a spiritual activity, from pilgrimages to shamanic journeys.
As the name suggests, A Philosophy of Walking
I actually bought this book because I am doing research for a talk on psychogeography that I've agreed to give at the Pagan Federation London Conference in August. Psychogeography is primarily about city walking. One definition, given by early psychogeographyer Guy Debord in 1955 is that it is a study of the "effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals." It is an urban stroll with philosophical and visionary intentions.
Frédéric Gros plainly prefers the countryside to the town but, although most of the walks detailed in A Philosophy of Walking
Publisher Verso Books says on its website: "In A Philosophy of Walking, a bestseller in France, leading thinker Frédéric Gros charts the many different ways we get from A to B — the pilgrimage, the promenade, the protest march, the nature ramble — and reveals what they say about us. Brilliant and erudite, A Philosophy of Walking is an entertaining and insightful manifesto for putting one foot in front of the other."
I only hope that my talk in August is as entertaining and insightful.
Links and previously related posts
A Philosophy of Walking
http://www.versobooks.com/
http://london.paganfed.org/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/psychogeography-by-merlin-coverley.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/08/review-aligh.html
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