The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad

by Emily Thomas

"This is the finest kind of travel: not just across continents, but through time, space and our infinite minds. The journey is the joy, and Emily Thomas a terrific guide." - Mike Parker

How can we think more deeply about our travels?

This was the question that inspired Emily Thomas' journey into the philosophy of travel. Part philosophical ramble, part travelogue, The Meaning of Travel begins in the Age of Discovery, when philosophers first started taking travel seriously. It meanders forward to consider Montaigne on otherness, John Locke on cannibals, and Henry Thoreau on wilderness.

On our travels with Thomas, we discover the dark side of maps, how the philosophy of space fuelled mountain tourism, and why you should wash underwear in woodland cabins... We also confront profound issues, such as the ethics of 'doom tourism' (travel to 'doomed' glaciers and coral reefs), and the effect of space travel on human significance in a leviathan universe.

The first ever exploration of the places where history and philosophy meet, this book will reshape your understanding of travel.

Genres: Philosophy, Travel, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Adventure

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Emily Thomas was born in London, and has lived there most of her life – except between the ages of 13 and 18 when she lived in Maldon in Essex on board a Thames Sailing Barge, with her family of seven assorted siblings and stepsiblings and two warring cats. Emily also works as an editor of many different kinds of books, including children’s and young adult fiction. She now lives in Brixton, with no pets and a lot of books.

Reviews

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب معنای سفر نوشته امیلی تامس، کتابی است که به بررسی مفهوم سفر از دیدگاه‌های مختلف فلسفی، تاریخی و فرهنگی می‌پردازد. این کتاب به خواننده کمک می‌کند تا درک بهتری از چرایی سفر کردن انسان‌ها، تأثیرات آن بر زندگی و هویتشان، و چگونگی شکل‌گیری مفهوم سفر در طول تاریخ داشته باشد.
موضوعات اصلی کتاب را می توان تاریخچه و فلسفه سفر یا بررسی تاریخچه سفر از دوران باستان تا به امروز و این که چگونه مفهوم سفر از یک نیاز اولیه به یک جستجوی معنوی و فرهنگی تبدیل شده ، تأثیر سفر بر هویت یا چگونگی تأثیر سفر بر شکل‌گیری هویت فردی و اجتماعی و تغییر دیدگاه فرد نسبت به خود و جهان ، مفهوم مکان در سفر یا چگونگی تأثیر مکان‌های مختلف با فرهنگ‌ها و تاریخ‌های خاص خود بر تجربه سفر یا که چگونه هر مکان می‌تواند تجربه‌ای منحصر به فرد برای مسافر ایجاد کند و بررسی تأثیرات درونی سفر بر فرد و این که سفر می‌تواند باعث تحولات درونی و رشد شخصی شود. ، دانست .
از دیدگاه امیلی تامس، سفر صرفاً یک جابجایی فیزیکی از مکانی به مکان دیگر نیست، بلکه تجربه‌ای عمیق و چندوجهی است که می‌تواند تأثیرات شگرفی بر زندگی انسان داشته باشد. نویسنده باور دارد که سفر فرصتی است برای شناخت خود. رویارویی با فرهنگ‌ها و محیط‌های جدید، انسان را وادار به تفکر در مورد باورها، ارزش‌ها و سبک زندگی خود می‌کند. این تجربه می‌تواند منجر به خودشناسی و درک عمیق‌تر از هویت فردی شود. هم چنین سفر با قرار دادن انسان در معرض دیدگاه‌ها و تجربیات جدید، افق‌های فکری او را گسترش می‌دهد. انسان با سفر کردن، با فرهنگ‌ها، آداب و رسوم و شیوه‌های زندگی مختلف آشنا می‌شود و این امر می‌تواند منجر به افزایش همدلی، و درک متقابل بین انسان‌ها شود.
سفر می‌تواند به رشد شخصی انسان کمک کند. چالش‌های سفر در محیط‌های ناآشنا، مواجهه با مشکلات غیرمنتظره و برقراری ارتباط با افراد جدید، می‌تواند باعث افزایش اعتماد به نفس، و توانایی حل مسئله شود. سفر می‌تواند به زندگی انسان معنا ببخشد. تجربه‌های جدید، مناظر زیبا و ارتباط با افراد مختلف می‌تواند الهام‌بخش باشد و به انسان کمک کند تا معنای زندگی خود را بهتر درک کند.
در پایان از دیدگاه امیلی تامس، سفر یک سرمایه‌گذاری ارزشمند در زندگی است که می‌تواند به انسان در ابعاد مختلف زندگی کمک کند. سفر می‌تواند انسان را به خودشناسی، رشد شخصی، گسترش دیدگاه و تجربه‌های معنادار برساند.

[Seyed Hashemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

لذت‌بخش و ملموس!


0-
کتاب خوبی بود، بخوانیدش.
امیدوارم ادامه‌ی متن شما را دلسرد نکند.
چون این کتاب را دوست داشتم، بدین میزان در ترازوی نقد قرارش دادم، و الا حقش این میزان از شقاوت نبود!
1-
چقدر با این اصل که "سفر" باید حس "غربت" را در دل مسافر ایجاد کند و سیاحتگر، غرابتِ خود با دیگران را درک کند موافق هستم. سفرهایی که از خانه به هتل، از هتل به رستوران، از رستوران با آژانس دربست به موزه و... است، بدم می‌آید. این سفرِ شما که مثل همون زندگی در شهر است؟ آیا نمی‌خواهی جوری دیگر زیستن را درک کنی؟ نمی‌خواهی با آدم‌های "دیگر" دم‌خور و همکلام بشوی؟
بسی بسیار با این حس غرابت همراه ام. با سفری که چیزی غریب و خارج از عادات خودمان را در آن درک نمی‌کنیم خیلی مشکل دارم.
سفر لزوما مسافت طولانی رفتن نیست. چه بسا یک کارشناس زبده امور مالی، صبح با هواپیما از لندن برود سنگاپور و پس از جلسه و استراحت در هتل‌های مجلل سنگاپور، که کپی از هم‌سنگ‌های انگلیسیِ خود است، صبح روز بعد رهسپار خانه شود. اما این سفر است؟
عجب سفری، فرهنگ مردم سنگاپور را در این سفر‌ها می‌توان درک کرد!

2-
یکی از لذت‌بخش‌ترین تجربه‌های مطالعاتی خود را از صدقه سر این کتاب کسب کردم. رخصت دهید شرح دهم.
با این کتاب سفر کردم. البته فیزیکی نه، در متروی تهران کتاب را می‌خواندم. در خاطراتم سفر کردم. یک مورد، خاطرات سفر و کوهنوردی‌های تابستانه بود. از سبلان و علم‌کوه گرفته، تا خُلِنو. چقدر این آخری سخت و پا نخورده و بکر بود. خُلِنو به عنوان بلندترین نقطه‌ی استان تهران، خوب از گزند انسان در امان مانده است.
این کتاب من را در حلقه‌ای از حال و گذشته، و خیال‌پردازیِ آینده گیر انداخت. تجربه‌ی جالبی بود...
3-
چرا انقدر نویسنده فکر کرده است کار بدیعی دارد می‌کند؟
قطع به یقین کتابی عالی بود و از زاویه دید خود حرف برای گفتن داشت، ولی برای مثال مردم‌شناسان بسیاری، تحقیق‌های درخور و جالبی در باره فرهنگ‌های دیگر انجام داده‌اند، اما نویسنده در این کتاب، که از هر دری سخن گفته، حرفی از این حوزه‌ی پژوهشی غنی به میان نمی‌آورد.
اندکی با این مورد که نویسنده همواره تلاش داشت کتاب خود را یکتا نشان بدهد، مشکل دارم. بعضا هم سعیِ نویسنده بر اینکه متنی "فلسفی" در مورد سفر بنویسد، به سخن‌پردازی‌های بی‌هدف شبیه‌تر بود تا تاملاتی فلسفی!

4-
از همه چیز گفتن، در اغلب مواقع، معادل هیچ چیز نگفتن است.
نویسنده از ارتباط سفر با فلسفه‌ی علم مدرن و فرانسیس بیکن، ایده‌ی فطری دکارت و ردیه‌ی جان لاک بهش، فلسفه‌ی محیط زیست و ساخت‌شکنی از نقشه، فلسفه‌ی فمنیستی و الخ حرف زد، اما ناموفق. یعنی هنگام مطالعه کتاب من را به وجد آورد، اما اندکی تامل دشمن این سطحی‌نگری بود. بجز چند ایده، کتاب حامل کلیتی معنا دار نبود.
ولی باز می‌گم لذت‌بخش بود.
5-
نمره حال حاضر این کتاب 4ستاره است. چرا الان 3ستاره می‌دهم؟ به کتاب رخصت مطالعه دوباره را می‌دهم. آن یک ستاره بماند پس از خاطره‌ای خوش از سفری غریب. اگر کتاب خود را اثبات کرد، نمره‌ی ملوکانه‌ی این حقیر افزایش می‌یابد.

[Negar Afsharmanesh]

شاید ما معنایی که در سرمون از فیلسوف داریم ، درباره فیلسوفان کلاسیک باشه؛ کسانی که میشینند و گوشه انزوا بغل میگیرند و درباره آدمیان و فلسفه زندگی نظر میدند. اما این کتاب به شما فیلسوف مدرن رو معرفی میکنه. کسی که در جهان مدرن سفر میکنه، تجربه میکنه و از روی دانش و تجربه های خودش که اونارو دیده درباره چیز های مختلف نظر میده.
نویسنده معتقده که منم باهاش موافقم ما نباید از خطرات سفر بگذریم آگاهانه این خطرات رو بپذیریم و تا جایی که میتونیم سفر کنیم. که از دل این سفر هاست که ما چیز های جدیدی ممکن عه یادبگیریم.
ما باید معنای عمق سفر رو بفهمیم.

[Narjes Dorzade · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review title: The examined journey

People go from point A to point B for many reasons at many different times and distances, but not all of those trips are considered "travel." We commute to work, go shopping, visit family and friends, go for a "Sunday drive." but none of these are "travel", a trip taken for a specific purpose that supports a large industry that is the main economic mainstay of many regions and cities around the world. Why do we "travel"? Why is it different? Philosophy professor Emily Thomas has written this little volume to help us understand the answers from history and philosophy.

Thomas, judging by her author bio and picture, is much younger and less tweedy than your typical philosophy professor, a difference that is reflected in her simple, straight-forward prose and in her solo vacation trip to Alaska which serves as the framework of her account. "I think the difference between everyday journeys and travel journeys lies in how much otherness the traveler experiences," (p. 5) she tells us to answer one of my questions, and "otherness is good for us." (p. 6) as we encounter the unfamiliar.

The history of travel might be said to begin with maps--as humans began to trace their surroundings on paper, the blank spaces in between the lines begged to be discovered. As Greek philosophers and then Christian theologians began to pose and answer questions about the world they saw around them, "natural philosophy" morphed into science and curiosity into controlled observation. Travel became a way to gather more data about the world and bring home specimens of the natural world for Enlightenment-era "cabinets of curiosity." The maturation of science into experimentation and hypotheses depended on the assumption of a rationally-operating universe confirmed by a broadened base of observation recorded by reliable travelers.

Travel became tourism with the rise of the wealthy amateur scientific traveler and the 17th-century tradition of the "Grand Tour" of Europe by young men (wealth, education, and travel being almost exclusively male privileges) to finish their education. Thomas Cook founded the travel industry in the 19th century by packaging affordable group tours for the growing upper middle classes. Writing and philosophizing about travel can be traced to Montaigne's Essays in the 16th century as observation turned into self-examination and the search for or invention of utopias (in Chapter 6), wide open spaces (Chapter 7), the sublime (chapter 8), and the wilderness escape (Thoreau's Walden in Chapter 9). Throughout these centuries--and today with the disruptions and accommodations required by the worldwide pandemic--change is the only constant of the logistics, the mechanics, and philosophies of travel.

Thomas is an engaging traveler and writer, explaining the philosophy in understandable terms, while providing notes and sources for those who want to extend their armchair travels with further reading. Travel becomes the examined journey in this worthwhile account.

[Chad Kohalyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book that put me in a very introspective mood. I put a roundup of the book on my blog. Don't read the post if you don't want spoilers! But do read the book if you want to learn more about how the reasons people travel has changed through time, and some prompts for thinking about why you travel.

[NOOR AL HUDA · Rating 4 out of 5]

فلسفة السفر هل هناك فلسفه خاصه للسفر ؟!
لم اكن اعي مقدرة السفر على توسيع الافاق وتحريك الاذهان والخروج بالتفكير الى ابعد الحدود. هل الفيلسوف حتى يكون فيلسوف عليه ان يجوب العالم ويرى كل الغرائب والقبائل حتى يبدأ بتوسيع افكاره والنظر مِنْ زوايا مختلفه لكل الامور. قديما كان الفيلسوف مِنْ يقع على عاتقه دراسة خلود ارواح البشر، الطبيعه والصخور وكانت العلوم القديمه تتشابك مع الفلسفه والدين.وكانت المعرفه مبنيه على تأمل طبيعة المادة . لهذا جاء بيكون بالمنهج التجريبي اي يجمعون المعلومات بالتجربة والملاحظة، وهنا جاءت اهمية السفر على الفليسوف ان يغامر بالسفر لكي يستكشف يجرب و يلاحظ رغم ان سقراط وكانط لم يسافرا خارج اسوار مدنهم لكن مخيلتهم طافت كل بقاع العالم. فكما قال الرحالة جيمس هاول: إن مِنْ ثمار السفر الى الخارج " افكار مبهجة، وألف فكرة مختلفة".
والكثير مِنْ الحديث عن الخرائط والرحاله

[James (JD) Dittes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really delightful book. I travel in order to achieve enlightenment, and Thomas's book, while adding few new philosophies to consider on my next trip (if I ever get to take one in this plague year), delves into the history of philosophy and shows notable points where it intersects with travel.

Tracing a line from Plato through Bacon, Descartes and Locke to the present-day, Thomas how philosophy was informed by experiential travel. Bacon, for one, encouraged his readers to travel and record observations about the world as a matter of scientific inquiry, not thrill-seeking. John Locke read travel books with an eye to innate behavior: were taboos the same from nation to nation? Were "natural" human traits in Europe, expressed by church and culture, really as universal as proponents made them out to be?

Each chapter has unique insights. I commend Thomas for spending as much time in 17th and 18th-century travelogues as she did, mining them for anachronistic or fantasaical insights about foreign peoples. I especially liked her chapter on travelling women and gender. I hadn't realized the limits that female travelers had faced right up into the last century, and how closely travel identified with the male gender until recent memory.

This is a book heavy on travel. It mixes in insights from Thomas's own excursion to Alaska. As a book of philosophy, though, it is relatively light: a chronological history of thought with a few of Thomas's own insights.

With that said, it's what I was looking for. I really enjoyed reading it, and it is the kind of book I can continue to enjoy as I reflect on what I learned.

[Brandon Toy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version. Overall, I don’t understand the purpose of this book. In some ways, it felt more like an avenue for the author to boast about all the books she’s read before. It was more like a history of travel rather than anything. The author remained vague and didn’t seem to have a clear thesis. I’m also writing this review about a month after listening to the book on double speed so take this with a grain of salt.

This did make me want to try reading some Thoreau and Emerson which is interesting in its own right.

[şahan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An academician's meta-philosophy, in a bad way

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook.

8 minutes in and so far it’s just a list of quotes. Quotes are not appealing to hear over audiobook, they’re all just blending together. Is this the whole book?

Two hours in and I’m giving up. Maybe it would be better to read but as an actual book, but it’s so boring and I can’t follow the flow of when she’s quoting and when she’s writing, and I don’t care enough to pay more attention to figure it out.

[Asiya (lavenderdecaflatte) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nature writing garnished with philosophy and poetry is indeed my favorite genre. I stumbled on this gem on Libby and I’m better for it. God bless public libraries, brooding minds and sublime nature.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED it. An incredible read with so many interesting commentaries and quotes that I shall return to again and again!

[Hamid · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب معنای سفر را با گروه کتابخوانی منظر خواندم. تجربه جالب که برای اولین بار با این گروه همراه می‌شدم. هفته دو فصل از این کتاب را می‌خواندیم و روزهای سه‌شنبه ساعت ۹ تا ۱۰ شب در گروه اسکایپ ر هم جمع می‌شدیم و در مورد برداشتمان از این دو فصل صحبت می‌کردیم. تجربه شیرینی بود و مدیریت دکتر مهربانی گلزار کار را به خوبی جلو برد
به همین دلیل برداشت‌هایم را از این کتاب به صورت مفصل‌تر یادداشت کردم و از نرم‌افزار نوشن برای یادداشت برداری
کتاب در فصل های اولیه خیلی بهتر و گیرا تر بود و به مرور از جذابیت آن کاسته شد و به مطالب کم اهمیت تر رسید
لینک خلاصه نویسی ام را از این کتاب اینجا می گذارم
خلاصه من از کتاب در سایت نوشن

[Thai D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book thinking, what could go wrong? travel + philosophy are my two favourite subjects in the world. Having loved "Hiking with Nietzsche," I was expecting a book as moving and as thought-provoking.

The writing is incredibly dull. The journey has nothing to write home about. The philosophy bit is boring and not at all stimulating. It reads as an endless mini biography and summary of trivial bits about some philosophers and what they talked about. None of which accumulates to a point worth remembering.

[Kan Bhalla · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had to re-title this book, I'd call it 'History of Travel and Philosophy'. While it deals with some very interesting topics like what travel meant to people in 16th and 17th century, and how philosophy and science were indistinguishable from each other until three centuries back, it also ponders on Emily's uneventful journey to Alaska, a short travelogue.
Overall, a book on this and that, which somehow makes into a coherent piece of reading.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Underwhelming, but it had some interesting parts. It wasn't cohesive at all -- each chapter covered its own topic and associated philosophers, which made them very hit and miss. The most interesting sections were the discussion of Henry More's philosophies of space/aesthetics of the infinite and Edmund Burke's distinction between the sublime and the beautiful.

[Juliet · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible, informative and entertaining read. Much more of a focus on philosophy and I doubt it would appeal to someone who has actually studied philosophy as it goes over a lot of the basics, but good for anyone who would like to learn a bit more.

[Sahar]

به خاطر دل‌سپردگی بیش از اندازه‌م به سفر، جدا دوستش داشتم؛ هر چند خیلی مفاهیم به ظاهر پراکنده‌ای رو وسط می‌کشه و در کل در بیش از ۶۰ درصد مواقع در مورد سفر صحبت نمی‌کنه!

[Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun and interesting look at the various philosophical aspects of travel

[Zahra-T · Rating 4 out of 5]

سفر از نگاه فلاسفه

[Morgan Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We often imagine philosophers sat in armchairs whilst contemplating abstract concepts that vaguely to relate to the world outside of their ivory tower. In some cases this is sort of accurate. But the fact of the matter is that philosophy is all about answering difficult questions, and sometimes you just have to get out into the world to find the answers to them. Emily Thomas takes us on a journey through philosophy and around the world, demonstrating how discovering different places has helped many thinkers come up with answers to some of the major questions in philosophy. Her writing style is engaging and the brief explanations of philosophical terms make this book very accessible to a wide audience.

[Sufia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book piqued my interest as it combines my interest of traveling and philosophy. I think the author did cover a couple of of interesting topics like 'is travel a male concept' etc..but i do agree with other reviews about the book being all over the place..and at the end, did not really have a direct clear stance on the meaning of travel. but at least it helps me appreciate and value the nuances of traveling

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book in general, but it was hard to listen to. (Maybe the voice, maybe it was slow to start.)

I also bought it on a whim and did not read the entire title. I think really it should have been titled The Philosophy of Travel.

Towards the end, Thomas gets into discussions about Thoreau, nature, gender issues, and it becomes a bit more interesting for me. I definitely learned a lot and it made me think, but I would not recommend it for the average person.

[Kaveh · Rating 5 out of 5]

من این کتاب رو با ترجمه ایمان خدافرد از نشر ترجمان خوندم..یکی از بهترین کتاب‌هایی که امسال خوندمش..حتما دوباره به سراغش میرم

[Aazir · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting topic for a book and the author is a good writer. However she doesn’t go into enough depth, rather the books jumps around and only briefly mentions lines of thought. This may be a good read for someone in high school.

[Michael Palkowski]

The book begins with an erroneous quote, supposedly from Plato's Republic. However, the sentiments behind the quote actually appear in Plato's longer and last dialogue "Laws" (Nomoi). The quote is also different, although some of the original sentiment is condensed the "quote".

Here is the part from Laws

" Let this, then, be our law about foreign travel and the reception of strangers:—No one shall be allowed to leave the country who is under forty years of age—of course military service abroad is not included in this regulation—and no one at all except in a public capacity"

And then there is an interesting part later in the section about how these people who do travel need to report to a council.

"This is the assembly to which the visitor of foreign countries shall come and tell anything which he has heard from others in the course of his travels, or which he has himself observed. If he be made neither better nor worse, let him at least be praised for his zeal; and let him receive still more praise, and special honour after death, if he be improved. But if he be deteriorated by his travels, let him be prohibited from speaking to any one; and if he submit, he may live as a private individual: but if he be convicted of attempting to make innovations in education and the laws, let him die"

I think there are too many quotes at the beginning of the book - some of them did stand out like the garbled Plato one and Thomas Palmer's quote from 1606, which furthered this line of thought. But the others seemed superfluous.

Very unfocused first chapter - the autobiographical aspects don’t add anything of value to the narrative. There are a few interesting quotes, but they don’t germinate into a proper thesis, or set of central premises, which the author then unpacks. Instead they seem to be thrown at the reader entirely at random, with the odd bit of author story as pillow narrative. The chapter title, which promises to explore the question: 'why do philosophers care about travel?', just fails to engage with such a huge amount of material that is available, that would have started to properly unpack this question.

Chapter two has some good reflections on map making, referring to a journal article by Brian Harley (1989) titled, ‘Deconstructing the Map’, which describes how maps are rhetorical devices - forms of power and social control. Maps can centre specific countries, or continents and diminish the importance of others. They can minimise entire terrains, or distort how things actually are - the book refers to a NY article that Harley mentions about the Soviet Union engaging in deliberate subterfuge with their maps - with all of them being inaccurate on purpose due to fears of foreign bombs and invasion.

I also enjoyed this quote

“Researchers have investigated the placement of borders alongside disputed territories on Google Maps. They have shown that the location of these borders jumps, depending on your web servers’ location. For example, on Russian servers, Google Maps shows disputed territory in Crimea as Russian rather than Ukrainian”

But, the reference for it was not great and I couldn't get a clear sense where it was from - except Durham's website.

[Caroline Ognibene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads as though you’ve met someone in a pub who has led a long, interesting life, but has decided to tell you all about it in one conversation. There’s too much and not enough. That said, there are some fascinating details to this book, and you can tell the author is a very smart and reflective scholar – her personality comes through the writing, and I sense she’s exactly the sort of person with whom you’d like to sit down and have a pint.

But I can’t conceive of a book of this length succeeding in covering such immense range – history of the British Empire, scientific method, the ethics of anthropology, climate change – all through the format of what ends up being an over-annotated bibliography. It’s interesting to learn, for example, that Mary Shelley did a lot of traveling before she wrote Frankenstein. I don’t know what to make of that, though, because as soon as I realize it is indeed interesting, the chapter ends and it’s time for me to learn about the North Pole. Rinse and repeat: Thomas presents Thoreau and Walden, drops a few quotes, lists some people who liked him, lists some people who didn’t, and scene. I was excited to read the chapter entitled ‘Is Travel a Male Concept?’ But Thomas simultaneously takes on too much and too little; this chapter starts with several pages defining gender, which I initially took to be a sign that the following analysis would be nuanced and critical. Disappointment – after an opening reflection, it’s just an annotated list of women who travelled even though men often resisted the idea. She went to great lengths to abstract gender from sex, then did nothing with it. Likewise with many other promising concepts.

The whole project feels like one big effort to show the reader that there is more meaning to travel than literally going from place A to place B. To that end, it might be better suited for people who love to travel but don’t normally enjoy reading or history, indicating that the book’s greatest weakness is the way it’s sold. That is, I would rather see it shelved under ‘travel’ than under ‘philosophy.’

For my purposes, I think the book’s greatest contribution is janitorial. It sorts a huge range of human history into digestible chunks, and it helped me decide what to read next. That kind of work takes an expert in the field, which Thomas unequivocally is.

[حنان سليمان · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب ده طلع أقل مما توقعت لكنه يظل لطيف.
في 13 فصل بياخدك كتاب "معنى السفر.. سفر الفلاسفة" للكاتبة الإنجليزية إيميلي توماس لجولة في مفهوم السفر وما كان يعنيه قديما عند الفلاسفة. فصل السفر كمفهوم ذكوري مدهش الحقيقة. كانوا بيشوفوا الست مش للسفر.. من بابه يعني. ومع ذلك بيذكر الكتاب نماذج لرحالة نسائية على قلتها. فصل الخرائط كمان ممتع جدا بخلاف مقدمة الكتاب وهي عبارة عن 10 نصايح في السفر بعضها لما تقراه اليوم تلاقيه فكاهي زي إن النساء والأطفال ملهمش يسافروا ولا أي إنسان عموما أقل من 40 سنة إلا لمهمة معينة مش سفر ترحال يعني ونظر في الكون وكده.
سفر الفلاسفة وكلامهم عنه ذكرني بأبي حامد الغزالي اللي جمع بين الفلسفة والفقه والتصوف وكتابه "المنقذ من الضلال" اللي وثق فيه تجربته ورحلته في طلب الحقيقة باحثا عن الله بعد فترة شك إيماني مر بها وبعد سنوات من تدريسه للعلوم الإسلامية.
من كتاب "معنى السفر":
- على لسان كامو:
What gives value to travel is fear. It is the fact that, at a certain moment, when we are so far from our own country … we are seized by a vague fear, and an instinctive desire to go back to the protection of old habits … this is why we should not say that we travel for pleasure. There is no pleasure in traveling, and I look upon it more as an occasion for spiritual testing.
- على لسان ديكارت:
I had already given enough time to languages and likewise to reading the works of the ancients both their histories and their fables. For Conversing with those of past centuries is much the same as traveling. It is good to know something of the customs of various peoples so that we may judge our own more simply and not think that everything contrary to our own ways is ridiculous and irrational as those who have seen nothing of the world ordinarily do. But, one who spends too much time traveling eventually becomes a stranger in his own country.

[Bassim · Rating 4 out of 5]

تستعرض إميلي توماس في كتابها هذا رحلة عميقة تتناول جوانب السفر المختلفة وتعيد تعريفه كوسيلة لاستكشاف الذات والعالم من منظور فلسفي. من خلال الكتاب، تفتح توماس نوافذ على أفكار الفلاسفة، مستعرضةً ما رآه هؤلاء وما لم يروه، ما تحدثوا عنه وما تركوه لنا لنتفكر به ونتساءل عنه. تحدثت عن أدب السفر، في جمالياته، في فلسفته، في الزوايا التي لم نرها من قبل، كتبت عن التساؤل وعن التفكر، عن الجبال والبحار وعلاقتها بالسفر، واللغات وأصلها وطرق التفكير بها، عن السمو والجمال وارتباطها به، عن الفراغ والأفكار الفطرية ووجود الرب، عن فلسفة العلم وفلسفة البراري وذكورية السفر. فهي تبرز كيف للفلسفة والسفر أن يتقاطعا بتكرار عبر تاريخهما الأفعواني.

يتناول الكتاب التأمل والتساؤل كجزء أساس من تجربة السفر، حيث ترى إميلي أن الرحلات تتجاوز حدود الجغرافيا إلى آفاق الفكر والوعي. تسلط الضوء على أفكار فلاسفة مثل فرانسيس بيكون، الذي ربط بين السفر والعلم، ومارغريت كافنديش التي نظرت إلى السفر كرحلة فكرية. وهنري مور حين كتب عن الفراغ وعلاقته بالتأمل، وما يرى نيوتن من السفر بصفته وسيلة لفهم العلم والظواهر الطبيعية. وما ناقشه جون لوك حيال تأثير السفر على التعليم وبناء الفكر.
كما تبرز إميلي أيضًا أفكار هنري ثورو، الذي جعل من العزلة جزءًا لا يتجزأ من تجربته في السفر، معتبراً إياها فرصة للانعزال عن العالم والتعمق في الذات والطبيعة. في فلسفة ثورو، تعبر العزلة عن التحرر من ضغوط الحياة، وهي لحظة تأملية يمكن للإنسان فيها أن يعيد الاتصال بالطبيعة وأعماق ذاته، مما يجعل السفر ليس مجرد انتقال مكاني، بل تجربة للتطهر الروحي والسمو الفكري.

ومن خلال فصول غنية (وبعضها مبعثرة قليلاً) تضع الكاتبة أمامك موضوعات مثل “خداع الخرائط”، و”ذكورية السفر”، و”فلسفة البراري”، وتختتمه بتأملات حول السفر إلى الفضاء الخارجي. هذا المزيج من أدب الرحلات والفلسفة يجعل “معنى السفر” أكثر من مجرد كتاب عن السفر، بل هو دعوة للتأمل، والاستكشاف، والفهم.

لا أعلم لماذا ولكن شعورًا لامسني بأن الكتاب مشابه لكتاب أنيس منصور "جسمك لا يكذب".