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The Meaning of Travel by Emily Thomas
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The Meaning of Travel

Philosophers Abroad

$16.79

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Narrator Esther Wane

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Length 5 hours 55 minutes
Language English
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How can we think more deeply about our travels?

This was the question that inspired Emily Thomas's 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 fueled 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.

Emily Thomas is associate professor in philosophy at Durham University. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge and worked in the Netherlands for three years before arriving at Durham. She has published extensively on the philosophy of space and time, as well as philosophical issues in travel. She has also spent a lot of time by herself getting lost around the world.

Esther Wane is a British actor and voice-over artist. After a career in finance Esther fulfilled a childhood dream of going to drama school in London, and her life as an actor began at age forty. She has a lifelong passion for literature and can often be found browsing bookshops at any spare moment. She owes her career in audiobooks to her impression of Joanna Lumley and has since narrated books in many genres, including memoir, politics, romantic fiction, and children's literature. She enjoys taking her listeners on a journey in time and space and bringing the characters on the page to life in their imagination. She lives with her family and collection of books in Hertfordshire, just outside London, where she has built a professional voice studio in the bottom of her garden.

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Get two free audiobooks AND support local bookstores Make the switch