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3.0 

A Philosophy of Walking

By Frederic Gros & John Howe &
A Philosophy of Walking by Frederic Gros & John Howe &  digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

This philosophical ode to finding joy in simple things explores how walking has influenced history’s greatest thinkers—from Henry David Thoreau and John Muir to Gandhi and Nietzsche.

“It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.” —Nietzsche

In this French bestseller, leading thinker and philosopher 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.

Gros draws attention to other thinkers who also saw walking as something central to their practice. On his travels he ponders Thoreau’s eager seclusion in Walden Woods; the reason Rimbaud walked in a fury, while Nerval rambled to cure his melancholy. He shows us how Rousseau walked in order to think, while Nietzsche wandered the mountainside to write. In contrast, Kant marched through his hometown every day, exactly at the same hour, to escape the compulsion of thought. Brilliant and erudite, A Philosophy of Walking is an entertaining and insightful manifesto for putting one foot in front of the other.

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55 Reviews

3.0
Thinking Face“"Even apart from the action of walking, but compatible with it, there is also joy experienced as fullness, the joy of living." I think I might have enjoyed the book more if I was more familiar with philosophy and the philosophers discussed here, but as it is I found the text incredibly slow and dense. Not my cup of tea.”
Thinking Face“This was an inspiring read. It found me at a time when slowing down and thinking more are welcomed habits. I’m going to go for a good long walk.”

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