Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture) [Paperback]

Michael W. Austin (Editor), Amby Burfoot (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture | Publication Date: October 29, 2007

A unique anthology of essays exploring the philosophical wisdom runners contemplate when out for a run. It features writings from some of America’s leading philosophers, including Martha Nussbaum, Charles Taliaferro, and J.P. Moreland.

• A first-of-its-kind collection of essays exploring those gems of philosophical wisdom runners contemplate when out for a run
• Topics considered include running and the philosophy of friendship; the freedom of the long distance runner; running as aesthetic experience, and “Could a Zombie Run a Marathon?”
• Contributing essayists include philosophers with athletic experience at the collegiate level, philosophers whose pasttime is running, and one philosopher who began running to test the ideas in his essay

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With equal measures of scholarship and soul, the essays in Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind, edited by Michael W. Austin, touch on religion, pain, happiness, and other topics that are best explored on a long run. With a pack of philosophers." (Runner's World, November 2007)

"The contributors are runners who approach the subject of running and philosophy sympathetically…there is enough in [the book] to the get the inner dialogue started." (Orange Community News)

Review

"[T]here is much potential for the essays in Running and Philosophy to spark lively discussions among readers, [and] the impressive variety of topics…is enough for nearly anyone with a modicum of interest in both running and philosophy to justify reading it. In fact, I think this book is required reading for all those who find themselves with this combination of interests."
–Thomas E. Gilbert, Sport, Ethics and Philosophy

"Every runner who has ever pondered the pleasure of pain, wondered about the duality of mind and body, or felt the artistic beauty of a perfect set of 800m repeats will enjoy this book."
–Jonathan Beverly, Running Times

"Is running more a disease or a source of human liberation? Would Aristotle and Nietzsche both endorse running? Does running on a treadmill dehumanize us? For answers to these and other intriguing questions, you will need to read Running and Philosophy. It leads one on a rich, varied, and enjoyable journey."
–R. Scott Kretchmar, Penn State University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (October 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405167971
• ISBN-13: 978-1405167970
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a philosopher at Eastern Kentucky University, with interests in ethics, philosophy of the family, philosophy of sport, and philosophy of religion. Most of my books are intended to make philosophy accessible to a wide audience. I think at its best philosophical thought can be applied in ways that lead to a wise, good, beautiful, and well-lived life. The result is a life with meaning and purpose that also ends up being deeply satisfying.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Challenging, Motivating, December 3, 2007

By 

The Synthesis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture) (Paperback)

This is one of the best books in the whole philosophy and pop culture genre.

For philosophers, the essays feel like they come very naturally out of the topic. They are wide-ranging but all grounded in running--no stretches to get the philosophy in. It's as effortless as a comfortable pace can be.

For runners, there is an informative development of ideas that you've probably started to have in your own running, but haven't seen through this far.

Fun, challenging, motivating.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, time well spent, July 31, 2008

By 

G. Weathers "Book Junkie" (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture) (Paperback)

I picked up this book at the perfect time and that is why I am giving it 5 stars. I originally got into running like a lot of people in high school as part of the cross country team. I only ran cross country as a way to get in shape for basketball season. After high school I stopped running and did not pick up the sport again until after my Step-father was diagnosed with cancer. He was a big time runner and had a 10 year streak of competing in a local 13.1 mile race. So I stepped in to run in his place to keep the streak alive. After his passing, I ran my first marathon in his memory and in the process found out a lot about myself. I have been running ever since, taking on 5K, 5 milers, halfs and marathons, all the while becoming more engrossed in the sport of running as well as the psychology behind it. As a child running is as natural as breathing, then at some point it became a chore and now it gives me the time and space I need to think in our modern world. This book simply shares the thoughts of others who have found similar insights from running. Happy trails.

2.0 out of 5 stars Better to subscribe to Runner's World, January 15, 2012

By 

Michael Cory - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture) (Paperback)

This book is a series of 19 essays,the vast majority of which were written by philosophy professors who to some degree or another also run or jog. As a practical matter the book was not what I was looking for after reading about it. I was hoping for some thought and insight into running with at least an equal focus on the running side of the title. While a few of the essays seemed to hit that mark, most seemed to be essays on philosophy that occasionally tried to incorporate some running theme with only mixed success. Mix in recurring references to the many of the same philophers (i.e., Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Thoreau), and the philosophy side of the book was not much better than what I would expect in an introductory philosophy class.

Examples of the essays I enjoyed are Chapter 2 "Chasing Happiness" which suggests that running can lead to true happiness because it "provides a context that is well suited for developing perfect friendship" in the sense that Aristotle defined "perfect friendship." Another talked about the importance of always keeping a goal in view to keep us focused when there are plenty of exuses for not running. Another made some interesting distintions in the different reasons people run while explaining the differences between runners and joggers. And another made some interesting points about the phenomenology of actually becoming a "runner". This involved the transition from initially having to occupy your mind while running to distract yourself from what you are actually doing to becoming free from the worries of distance and time.

The essays that I did not particularly enjoy included almost all of the rest. But here are a few examples of what you might expect. One essay is 11 pages on why running outside is a better experience than running on a treadmill with the premise being that treadmill running does not produce the same experience as running in natural surroundings because, of course, your inside on a treadmill and not outside where you should be. Another makes the argument that achieving the "good life" is harder today than it used to be because the agricultural revolution prevents us from living the lives our bodies crave. So in order to avoid "self destruction" we must cram a full day of hunting and gathering into our limited free time. This essay can best be described as a 9 page criticism of modern culture and religion which occasionaly mentions running. It also contains such insight as "if god exists, which is a big if . . . he could have designed us for kneeling on the floor, sitting in pews, or standing around chatting while downing cheap donuts and coffee." But instead if he exists at all he designed us with "buttocks and achilles tendons". Another is an essay on opera and classical music as an expression of emotion which talked very little about running other than the fact that the author is able to play music in his head while running without headphones by listening to cds at home before he runs.

If you are looking for a book primarily about running, my advice is to look elsewhere.