Some podcasts only talk the talk, but David and Ellie walk the walk (or talk the walk?) in episode 43 by diving into the philosophy of walking. Walking is a complex sociocultural practice that raises fascinating questions about history, power, and freedom. Why did our ancestors transition from walking on all fours to walking on two legs, and how did this shape our evolution as a species? Why have so many philosophers throughout history (from Aristotle to Rousseau) insisted on incorporating walks into their daily routines? And how do systems of oppression—such as classism, racism, sexism, transphobia, and ableism—mold our experience of walking, determining where and even how we can walk?
*correction: when Ellie says "James DeSilva," she meant "Jeremy DeSilva"! Our apologies to the author of First Steps.
Works Discussed
Charles Baudelaire, “The Painter of Modern Life”
Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking
Gayle Salamon, The Life and Death of Latisha King: A Critical Phenomenology of Transphobia
Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Jennifer McDuff and Alison Phinney, "Walking With Meaning: Subjective Experiences of Physical Activity in Dementia"
Jeremy DeSilva, First Steps: How Upright Walking Made us Human
Jo Livingstone and Lovia Gyarkye, "Death to the Flâneur"
Lauren Elkin, Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London
Marily Oppezzo and Daniel L. Schwartz, "Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking"
Michel de Certeau, "Walking in the City"
Quill R. Kukla, "City Spaces, Pace Bias, and the Production of Disability"
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