Travel is as much a philosophical as a practical undertaking

“If our lives are dominated by a search for happiness, then perhaps few activities reveal as much about the dynamics of this quest — in all its ardor and paradoxes — than our travels. They express, however inarticulately, an understanding of what life might be about, outside of the constraints of work and of the struggle for survival. Yet rarely are they considered to present philosophical problems — that is, issues requiring thought beyond the practical. We are inundated with advice on where to travel to, but we hear little of why and how we should go, even though the art of travel seems naturally to sustain a number of questions neither so simple nor so trivial, and whose study might in modest ways contribute to an understanding of what the Greek philosophers beautifully termed eudaimonia, or ‘human flourishing’.”
–Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel (2002)

Posted by | Comments (3)  | August 2, 2010
Category: Travel Quote of the Day


3 Responses to “Travel is as much a philosophical as a practical undertaking”

  1. Parag Shah Says:

    Nice post… It’s very true that travel can indeed be a philosophical undertaking.

  2. Sage Says:

    Sounds like an ntersting book…

  3. GypsyGirl Says:

    Indeed it is Sage–a book that can be either read though cover to cover, or picked up and just opened to a short section.