A philosophy of walking / Frédéric Gros ; translated by John Howe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gros, Frédéric.

Standardized Title:

Marcher, une philosophie. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Walking--Philosophy.

Walking.

Physical Description:

x, 227 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

English-language edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Verso, 2014.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Walking is not a sport

Freedoms

Why I am such a good walker (Nietzsche)

Outside

Slowness

The passion for escape (Rimbaud)

Solitudes

Silences

The walker's waking dreams (Rousseau)

Eternities

Conquest of the wilderness (Thoreau)

Energy

Pilgrimage

Regeneration and presence

The cynic's approach

States of well-being

Melancholy wandering (Nerval)

A daily outing (Kant)

Strolls

Public gardens

The urban flâneur

Gravity

Elemental

Mystic and politician (Gandhi)

Repetition.

Notes:

Translation of: Marcher, une philosophie.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781781682708

1781682704

OCLC:

856977651