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“It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.” —Nietzsche
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.
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.
- Sales Rank: #702564 in Books
- Published on: 2014-04-08
- Released on: 2014-04-08
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.53" h x .95" w x 5.82" l, 1.25 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 240 pages
From Booklist
Philosopher Gros ponders walking, that most mundane mode of transportation or exercise, elevating it to its rightful place in inspiring creativity, evoking freedom, and quieting a troubled soul. Whether taking a leisurely wandering stroll or a purposeful trek along an assigned path, when walking we are reduced to “a moving two-legged beast,” momentarily detached from obligations. Beyond his own perambulations, Gros evokes the wanderings of Kerouac and Ginsburg. Nietzsche walked to restore his health and get release from debilitating migraines, until he could walk no more. Rimbaud walked Paris to release his creativity. Nerval walked to ease his melancholy. Rousseau found inspiration only when walking, pondering memories and dreams. And of course, Thoreau walked to commune with nature and meditate. Gros examines the creative philosophies of these writers, artists, and thinkers so deeply influenced by the simple act of walking. He also examines the long journeys, pilgrimages, and protest walks of so many others in this fascinating look at the not-so-simple act of walking. --Vanessa Bush
Review
“A passionate affirmation of the simple life, and joy in simple things. And it’s beautifully written: clear, simple, precise.” —Observer
“Poignant life-stories ... are interspersed with the author’s own meditations on walking ... In the way a landscape is gradually absorbed by the long-distance rambler they steadily build into an insistent exhortation: get up, get out and walk!” —Independent
“Life-affirming stuff.” —National Geographic Traveler
“Impressive.” —Daily Telegraph
“Philosopher Gros ponders walking, that most mundane mode of transportation or exercise, elevating it to its rightful place in inspiring creativity, evoking freedom, and quieting a troubled soul.” —Booklist
“This elegant book inspires consideration of an oft-overlooked subject.” – Publisher's Weekly
"Frédéric Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers – Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac – have also been indefatigable walkers … there are certain magical things that happen on the trail, and Gros is familiar with them. He thinks like a hiker."— Financial Times
"An admirable little book which will delight even the most sedentary."—Le Monde
"An unclassifiable book in which ideas are illuminated by the bright light of the morning."—L’Express
About the Author
Frederic Gros is a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris XII and the Institute of Political Studies, Paris. He was the editor of the last lectures of Michel Foucault at the College de France. He has written books on psychiatry, law and war. He lives in Paris.
Most helpful customer reviews
27 of 31 people found the following review helpful.
Some interesting comments, but lacks focus
By Phelps Gates
What we have here is a number of short chapters, each having to do with walking in some way. The emphasis is on public and literary figures who did a lot of walking (Nietzsche, Gérard de Nerval, Rimbaud, Gandhi etc.) or who mention walking in their writing (Proust's Guermantes and Swann's Ways, for example). The book is clearly inspired by and modeled on Thoreau's long essay Walking, which is available for free on the internet and is very much worth reading or re-reading. Like Thoreau, the author goes quite far afield, using walking as a jumping-off place for his own personal ideas, which often seem like random personal comments and biographical summaries of the authors mentioned. I had hoped to hear more on just what how they used walking to shape their ideas, or how their ideas shaped their walking activities, but the author just seemed to use walking as a clothesline to hang some of his own views on. Some of the chapters do have interesting and perceptive comments: as he points out, sporting events typically involve an attempt to overcome gravity, while walking is a matter of yielding to it: completing it, rather than transgressing it, as he puts it (of course, I might have disagreed with this while walking up Mount Katahdin a couple years ago).
Gros doesn't give much insight into the role of walking in today's society: why is it that instead of walking and climbing in the open air, people willingly pay hundreds of dollars to gyms to use treadmills and stair climbers, activities which served as punishment for criminals in previous centuries! And the book short-changes long-distance hikes like the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and similar hikes in Europe. As an AT hiker, I was looking forward to what the author might tell us about the meaning which such hikes (and their increasing popularity) might have for today's society or for their participants. No such luck. The book does discuss the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage, but only in terms of its medieval aspects, and in the context of penance. I suspect that most of the thousands who follow that route today would have a different outlook on it.
And competitive walking (hiking speed records or heel-and-toe racewalking) is completely ignored: in the first chapter, he actually denies its existence, perhaps through wishful thinking. Gandhi's Salt March is described at length, but the book never mentions marches for civil rights and gay rights, mass protest marches (Europe, China, the Arab Spring, etc.) And the book has a number of factual errors: Santiago de Compostela is not at Europe's westernmost point, for example. On the whole, I didn't feel that I got a great deal of insight into the meaning of walking in life today. I'd suggest reading Thoreau instead.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Insightful and Informative
By Jayne P. Bowers
A daily walker who believes strongly in the power of the "E-word" (exercise), I jumped at the chance to order this book. What I expected was a series of essays about the author's walking experiences and his insights and epiphanies during these experiences. I was wrong. This book is much, much more than that.
Divided into 25 short chapters, the reader can begin with Chapter One and continue in a systematic chapter-by-chapter manner, or she can jump around, start at the end and work backwards, or dip into the book and read selected paragraphs at random. Whatever the reading choice, the passages are thought provoking and informative.
I started with Chapter One, "Walking is Not a Sport," and then moved on to Chapter Three about Nietzsche. I knew that he was an almost fanatical walker, but I didn't know that he became mad and was cared for by his mother who "washed and tidied him, consoled him, took him for walks, watched over him night and day. For seven years." I also learned that Rousseau claimed to be incapable of thinking properly or finding inspiration except when he was walking. And then there's Gandhi who valued the spiritual and political benefits of walking.
The book is a must-read for walkers. Not only will they get those "aha moments" when reading the author's insights, but they will also learn much about famous folks who have loved the activity of being out in nature strolling, ambling, marching, tromping, striding, or traipsing.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Walk! (and Enjoy the Benefits that This Exercise Offers...)
By Gregory E. Foster
An especially enlightening and enjoyable little book (under 220 pages) about "walking" and its "purpose" or usefulness in the creative lives of famous philosophers, thinkers, teachers, poets, etc. throughout our relatively recent and not so recent past.
First, I cannot believe how many people have "torn this book up" with their reviews! My honest hope is that you will overlook these and read some of the 4 and 5 star ones....they are the folks who have understood and relate to the author's intentions! I cannot imagine that the average perspective reader will not come away from this truly wonderful educational/enlightening experience laid out for you by Mr. Gros and not think themselves the better for having read/experienced this lovely book!
Walking....it's pace, the determination put into it, the steep rugged terrain walk, the easy lazy stroll, etc., on and on are gone into here with interesting, informative and delightful examples of what each meant to famous men during their creative productive lives in our past.
Others have written much, so I will keep this review rather brief, but urge you to read this really enjoyable book. Nietzsche, Rimbaud, Rousseau, Thoreau, and Travelers-By-Foot to Santiago de Compostela all would recommend you read it, as well as many Strollers in the Public Gardens of the 1890's would also! Do read this book....I'm betting you will really love it and be glad you did so!
~operabruin
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