Gary Hayden

I wanted this "Philosophical Hike Through the British Isles" to be so much better - with its promise of Plato and
a nice long walking journey - than it was.

The early chapters were crowded with avoidable complaints of the road, the blisters, the pressures of the time
line that the author and his wife had set, the lack of enough money set aside, the weight of the tent and rucksacks,
the boredom, the scenery, skipping the good attractions of the towns, the rain, etc., etc. This detracted from
any pleasure in the walk. Where were any birds and their songs? Wildlife? Flowers? Plants? Trees? Churches?

And no Singing?!?

Lots of details got missed - did they dig toilets? what and how did they cook?

The last third was totally repetitive and so even more disappointing.

Viktor Frankl's quote was the highlight of the book:

"The meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day
and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore,
is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific
meaning of a person's life at a given moment."… (lisätietoja)

In most universities philosophy majors are dying out. Most undergrad prerequisites used to have Intro To Philosophy 101 or Critical Thinking classes. Some schools have abandoned the philosophy electives altogether. That’s too bad, in my opinion. Philosophy classes are good but it depends on the quality of the professor and how much effort the students perceive the class to be as an entry level elective.
This was a good book which straddles those Intro classes and basic philosophy courses which most people now avoid. In Catholic seminaries today two years of philosophy courses, taken anywhere, are required before theology work begins.
This book has a unique style. It took me a bit of time to get used to it but once I did I enjoyed the writing even if the questions weren’t always answered to my satisfaction.
Hayden has a master’s degree so I was jealous that he wrote this book and got it published as opposed to writing a philosophical article or two.
Each chapter has a question from a specific philosopher which Hayden examines in a few pages. Usually the philosopher commits a logical fallacy which Hayden sees as a way to enter into larger discussion on philosophical topics. Those topics are then self-referenced within the other chapters of the book. Good book, although slightly misleading at times.… (lisätietoja)

This was an intriguing book, though somehow it didn’t quite work for me. The premise was an excellent one, and seemed designed specifically to appeal to me, which makes it even more disappointing.

Gary Harden and his wife, on returning from five years living and working in Vietnam, decided to walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End. Having made this decision, they planned what seemed the most appealing route, even though that would take the total mileage to around 1,200. Harden recounts his experiences in a fairly perfunctory way, focusing more on his feelings at the time rather than describing in close detail the countryside through which he walked.

He does, however, devote a lot of time to his thoughts about philosophy, offering fascinating morsels from a selection of the most noteworthy thinkers. He draws particularly heavily on Plato, whom he first encountered on a camping holiday as a teenager. Books about walking have become increasingly popular recently, and the combination with the teaching of philosophy is a new and intriguing twist.

My only problem was to do with the tone of the book. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I think that there was an underlying smugness that rankled all the way through. While I found his apostrophes about philosophy interesting informative, I simply couldn’t bring myself to like the book. I am quite happy to concede that the fault may lie with me, but there it is.… (lisätietoja)