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Sailing - Philosophy For Everyone: Catching the Drift of Why We Sail
This volume reveals the wisdom we can learn from sailing, a sport that pits human skills against the elements, tests the mettle and is a rich source of valuable lessons in life.
Unravels the philosophical mysteries behind one of the oldest organized human activities Features contributions from philosophers and academics as well as from sailors themselves Enriches appreciation of the sport by probing its meaning and value Brings to life the many applications of philosophy to sailing and the profound lessons it can teach us A thought-provoking read for sailors and philosophers alike
Unravels the philosophical mysteries behind one of the oldest organized human activities Features contributions from philosophers and academics as well as from sailors themselves Enriches appreciation of the sport by probing its meaning and value Brings to life the many applications of philosophy to sailing and the profound lessons it can teach us A thought-provoking read for sailors and philosophers alike
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 26, 2023
Book 11/69: Sailing - Philosophy For Everyone: Catching the Drift of Why We Sail Patrick Goold as an editor for the variety of authors. I was curious of this read and it was underwhelming... I have little thoughts but would love to read more philosophy of the sea and much less of the sport of sailing.
January 25, 2016
One of the many titles available in the Wiley-Blackwell Philosophy for Everyone series, Sailing: Philosophy for Everyone: Catching the Drift of Why We Sail offers philosophers real world application of philosophical principles and invites sailors to critically reflect on their sailing experience. If you are a philosopher and want to learn about sailing, you could do better by taking a sailing class or reading an instructional book. If you sail and either have a philosophical bent or want a little help reflecting on your sailing experiences, this is the best book I know of.
I am both an amateur philosopher, having taught Introduction to Philosophy as Adjunct Faculty based on my M.Div., and an amateur cruiser, having completed ASA 101, 103 and owning and sailing a C&C 24 on New York 19s Jamaica Bay. As a sailor and a philosopher, I loved most of this book.
The fifteen chapters, divided into four parts, are written by either philosophers who sail or sailors who have critically reflected on sailing. In Part 1, PASSING THROUGH PAIN AND FEAR IN THE PLACE OF PERPETUAL UNDULATION, Jack Stillwaggon considers the Certo ergo sum dimension of sailing. Gary Jobson provides a racer 19s point of view. Crista Lebens draws primarily on Aristotle 19s 1Ceudaimonia 1D and phronesis to reflect on a typical day sailing. In my favorite chapter, Richard Hutch applies Rudolf Otto 19s idea of mysterium tremendum to ponder the spiritual dimension of sailing.
In Part 2, THE MEANING OF THE BOAT - THREE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT, James Whitehill offers a reflection from a Zen point of view. Gregory and Tod Basham 19s chapter on The Stoic Sailor was my fourth favorite chapter. I highlighted more text in it than any other chapter except one. Steve Horrobin 19s 1CSailors of the Third Kind 1D was my third favorite chapter and the one in which I highlighted the most text. In case there was any doubt, Horrobin convinced me that of the three types of sailors, I am the third kind.
In Part 3, BEAUTY AND OTHER AESTHETIC ASPECTS OF THE BEAUTY OF THE SAILING EXPERIENCE, Nicholas Hayes 19 reflection on the Race to Mackinac left me a little cold because I am not a racer. Steve Matthew 19s chapter on Sailing, Flow, and Fulfillment, however, invited me to reflect on the 1Cflow 1D I sometimes experience sailing as well as sea kayaking, even though he writes from the perspective of a sail boarder. My second favorite was Chapter 10, 1COn the Crest of the Wave: The Sublime, Tempestuous, Graceful, and Existential Facets of Sailing. 1D In it, Jesus Ilundain-Agurruza, Luisa Gagliardini Graca, and Jode Angel Jauregui-Olaiz helped me understand why, for me, navigare necesse est. Their chapter 10, along with Hutch 19s Chapter 4, would have justified my purchasing this collection of essays. In Chapter 11, Jesse Steinberg and Michael Stuckart consider what is 1Cinstrumentally valuable 1D and 1Cintrinsically valuable 1D about sailing.
In Part 4, PHYSICS AND METAPHYSICS FOR THE PHILOSOPHICAL SAILOR, Sebastian Kuhn 19s chapter 12 considers the relativity of sailing. John D. Norton considers wind, apparent wind, and created wind in Chapter 13, a chapter that forced me to remember what I learned in high school about vectors, and in the Appendix contained more math than most would be comfortable with. In Chapter 14, Tamar M. Rudavsky and Nathaniel Rudavsky-Brody consider the gods, fate and the sea. Hilaire Belloc 19s Chapter 15 transforms a crossing of the English Channel into an archetype sail.
Because Sailing: Philosophy for Everyone: Catching the Drift of Why We Sail is a collection of essays rather than the work of one author, it can seem uneven. While for some, its choppiness can be a challenge, it can also provide some excitement. Sailors, from racers to cruisers, and sailboarders to blue water circumnavigators, will most likely find some wind for their sails in these pages and lead them to wonder if indeed the unexamined sail is not worth sailing.
I am both an amateur philosopher, having taught Introduction to Philosophy as Adjunct Faculty based on my M.Div., and an amateur cruiser, having completed ASA 101, 103 and owning and sailing a C&C 24 on New York 19s Jamaica Bay. As a sailor and a philosopher, I loved most of this book.
The fifteen chapters, divided into four parts, are written by either philosophers who sail or sailors who have critically reflected on sailing. In Part 1, PASSING THROUGH PAIN AND FEAR IN THE PLACE OF PERPETUAL UNDULATION, Jack Stillwaggon considers the Certo ergo sum dimension of sailing. Gary Jobson provides a racer 19s point of view. Crista Lebens draws primarily on Aristotle 19s 1Ceudaimonia 1D and phronesis to reflect on a typical day sailing. In my favorite chapter, Richard Hutch applies Rudolf Otto 19s idea of mysterium tremendum to ponder the spiritual dimension of sailing.
In Part 2, THE MEANING OF THE BOAT - THREE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT, James Whitehill offers a reflection from a Zen point of view. Gregory and Tod Basham 19s chapter on The Stoic Sailor was my fourth favorite chapter. I highlighted more text in it than any other chapter except one. Steve Horrobin 19s 1CSailors of the Third Kind 1D was my third favorite chapter and the one in which I highlighted the most text. In case there was any doubt, Horrobin convinced me that of the three types of sailors, I am the third kind.
In Part 3, BEAUTY AND OTHER AESTHETIC ASPECTS OF THE BEAUTY OF THE SAILING EXPERIENCE, Nicholas Hayes 19 reflection on the Race to Mackinac left me a little cold because I am not a racer. Steve Matthew 19s chapter on Sailing, Flow, and Fulfillment, however, invited me to reflect on the 1Cflow 1D I sometimes experience sailing as well as sea kayaking, even though he writes from the perspective of a sail boarder. My second favorite was Chapter 10, 1COn the Crest of the Wave: The Sublime, Tempestuous, Graceful, and Existential Facets of Sailing. 1D In it, Jesus Ilundain-Agurruza, Luisa Gagliardini Graca, and Jode Angel Jauregui-Olaiz helped me understand why, for me, navigare necesse est. Their chapter 10, along with Hutch 19s Chapter 4, would have justified my purchasing this collection of essays. In Chapter 11, Jesse Steinberg and Michael Stuckart consider what is 1Cinstrumentally valuable 1D and 1Cintrinsically valuable 1D about sailing.
In Part 4, PHYSICS AND METAPHYSICS FOR THE PHILOSOPHICAL SAILOR, Sebastian Kuhn 19s chapter 12 considers the relativity of sailing. John D. Norton considers wind, apparent wind, and created wind in Chapter 13, a chapter that forced me to remember what I learned in high school about vectors, and in the Appendix contained more math than most would be comfortable with. In Chapter 14, Tamar M. Rudavsky and Nathaniel Rudavsky-Brody consider the gods, fate and the sea. Hilaire Belloc 19s Chapter 15 transforms a crossing of the English Channel into an archetype sail.
Because Sailing: Philosophy for Everyone: Catching the Drift of Why We Sail is a collection of essays rather than the work of one author, it can seem uneven. While for some, its choppiness can be a challenge, it can also provide some excitement. Sailors, from racers to cruisers, and sailboarders to blue water circumnavigators, will most likely find some wind for their sails in these pages and lead them to wonder if indeed the unexamined sail is not worth sailing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews