There are plenty of books around about walking, tramping, the fundamentals of the act of treading the planet’s curvature, mapping it, returning to a human scale. Solnit and Macfarlane are two who come to mind instantly, but there are also those from previous generations including Lee and Stephen Graham. Often this interest is associated with a desire to counteract the way in which high modernity has abandoned what might be called the human scale. Planes, trains and automobiles have ruptured a connection to the land which the human species has had for thousands of years. The need to reclaim that bond is pressing and it comes as no surprise that writers who care about our relationship not just to nature, but also to our ancestors, seek to re-vindicate an art that in many parts of the modern world has come to be considered a near-redundant irritation.
Gros belongs firmly to this canon. His lovely book rambles through an articulation of the styles and benefits of walking. He cites several writers as cases in point, including Nietzsche, Nerval, Wordsworth etc, revealing the way in which they used the act of walking to further their thinking and their writing. He uses these examples in conjunction with an analysis of the different benefits that accrue as a result of walking, looking at how it stimulates us to think differently. The section on the differing approaches within Greek philosophy to walking offers a particularly lucid insight.
As mentioned, The Philosophy or Walking is more of a ramble than a hike. It’s one of those books you can dip in and out of. The terrain feels familiar, but it’s full of occasional unexpected sights. Take it out for a stroll. It will be good company. The road will not tire you. It will leave you refreshed.
No comments:
Post a Comment