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Overview
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
Synopsis
Running is not just a physical activity — it is also a reflective endeavor. With the wind at your back and ribbons of roadway in front of you, there is ample time to think about life’s big questions.
This first-of-its kind volume brings together some of today’s leading philosophers to address such questions as:
- What is the relationship between success in running and success in life?
- What can we learn from pain?
- Is running a religion?
- How does running fit into the pursuit of a meaningful life?
- What is the connection between running, friendship, and happiness?
The combination of running and philosophy can help us achieve a goal we all share, reflected in the words of eminent Enlightenment philosopher John Locke: "A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this world."
Editorials
From the Publisher
"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)