What do you think?
Rate this book
Running with the Pack: Thoughts from the Road on Meaning and Mortality
'Most of the serious thinking I have done over the past twenty years has been done while running.' Mark Rowlands has run for most of his life. He has also been a professional philosopher. And for him the two - running and philosophising - are inextricably connected.
In Running with the Pack he tells us about the most significant runs of his life - from the entire day he spent running as a boy in Wales, to the runs along French beaches and up Irish mountains with his beloved wolf Brenin, and through Florida swamps more recently with his dog Nina. Intertwined with this honest, passionate and witty memoir are the fascinating meditations that those runs triggered. He ends by describing running a mid-life marathon with absolutely no training. Woven throughout the book are profound meditations on mortality, midlife and the meaning of life. This is a highly original and moving book that will make the philosophically inclined want to run, and those who love running become intoxicated by philosophical ideas.
In Running with the Pack he tells us about the most significant runs of his life - from the entire day he spent running as a boy in Wales, to the runs along French beaches and up Irish mountains with his beloved wolf Brenin, and through Florida swamps more recently with his dog Nina. Intertwined with this honest, passionate and witty memoir are the fascinating meditations that those runs triggered. He ends by describing running a mid-life marathon with absolutely no training. Woven throughout the book are profound meditations on mortality, midlife and the meaning of life. This is a highly original and moving book that will make the philosophically inclined want to run, and those who love running become intoxicated by philosophical ideas.
224 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2013
70 people are currently reading
656 people want to read
About the author
Mark Rowlands
37 books147 followersMark Rowlands was born in Newport, Wales and began his undergraduate degree at Manchester University in engineering before changing to philosophy. He took his doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University and has held various academic positions in philosophy in universities in Britain, Ireland and the US.
His best known work is the book The Philosopher and the Wolf about a decade of his life he spent living and travelling with a wolf. As The Guardian described it in its review, "it is perhaps best described as the autobiography of an idea, or rather a set of related ideas, about the relationship between human and non-human animals." Reviews were very positive, the Financial Times said it was "a remarkable portrait of the bond that can exist between a human being and a beast,". Mark Vernon writing in The Times Literary Supplement "found the lessons on consciousness, animals and knowledge as engaging as the main current of the memoir," and added that it "could become a philosophical cult classic", while John Gray in the Literary Review thought it "a powerfully subversive critique of the unexamined assumptions that shape the way most philosophers - along with most people - think about animals and themselves." However, Alexander Fiske-Harrison for Prospect warned that "if you combine misanthropy and lycophilia, the resulting hybrid, lycanthropy, is indeed interesting, but philosophically quite sterile" and that, although Rowlands "acknowledges at the beginning of the book that he cannot think like a wolf... for such a capable philosopher and readable author not to have made the attempt is indeed an opportunity missed."
As a professional philosopher, Rowlands is known as one of the principal architects of the view known as vehicle externalism or the extended mind, and also for his work on the moral status of animals.
His best known work is the book The Philosopher and the Wolf about a decade of his life he spent living and travelling with a wolf. As The Guardian described it in its review, "it is perhaps best described as the autobiography of an idea, or rather a set of related ideas, about the relationship between human and non-human animals." Reviews were very positive, the Financial Times said it was "a remarkable portrait of the bond that can exist between a human being and a beast,". Mark Vernon writing in The Times Literary Supplement "found the lessons on consciousness, animals and knowledge as engaging as the main current of the memoir," and added that it "could become a philosophical cult classic", while John Gray in the Literary Review thought it "a powerfully subversive critique of the unexamined assumptions that shape the way most philosophers - along with most people - think about animals and themselves." However, Alexander Fiske-Harrison for Prospect warned that "if you combine misanthropy and lycophilia, the resulting hybrid, lycanthropy, is indeed interesting, but philosophically quite sterile" and that, although Rowlands "acknowledges at the beginning of the book that he cannot think like a wolf... for such a capable philosopher and readable author not to have made the attempt is indeed an opportunity missed."
As a professional philosopher, Rowlands is known as one of the principal architects of the view known as vehicle externalism or the extended mind, and also for his work on the moral status of animals.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
December 12, 2013
This book is rich, deep and meaty. As a fan of anything that can capture the essence of running in words, I dashed into this book. It gave me as much as I could have hoped for.
The author starts the novel at the starting chute of a marathon being "undercooked" having not trained for many weeks. Yet still he is going to run and acknowledges lying to himself about just running a portion to see how he feels. He knows full well he's going to keep going, and we get to hear his mental meanderings along the way.
The author goes back again and again to running for the sake of running and not for the end results of something else. Running is whe we find play and get back to 'knowing' what it's like to play and remember things we have only known as a child. Getting wrapped up in the run itself is something that makes this life worthwhile.
You won't find the typical "Just Do It,""Run Strong", or some Prefontaine or Sheehan slogans (both of whom I love) that will serve as mantras. What you will find are perhaps some of the deepest critical thinking of running you will ever read. Many parts will stick with me.
I loved his examination of the question "what do I think about when I run" and referred to this material for a blog post. If there is any mantra that the book left me with, it will be the idea that every run has its own heart beat you get lost in, and if you do happen to be thinking too much during a run, that means it has gone bad, or has not yet 'gone right.' 'The Heart-beat of the run' will be tattooed in your memory after reading how the author's descriptions.
I also loved the author pondering his decline of athleticism and mounting running injuries. No trite cliches to offer comfort, just more philosophical discourse on mortality. Yes, we are all a running tragedy, born as runners to get slower before we die, but first becoming more often injured as we age, never to fully recover. Soon we will run less, and eventually stop running altogether. This may be the only book where you will see Sartre's nihilist thoughts examined alongside a marathon route, and to help find meaning in running injuries and our tragic human predicament. While I may tell myself "my brain is just an organ asking me to slow, I don't have to listen to it", this author brings out not just philosophy 101, but snippets of Grad class.
This is not pop-culture philosophy, this is Socratic dialogue, and some of his mental discourse was incredibly interesting to follow. Other times I got bored, skimmed, found myself outside of the heartbeat of the read, but after a few more miles it got right back in a groove I could totally keep pace with. When he spoke of the animals he ran with, it was clear the power of 'running with the pack' had on him, but at times it was like being shown one too many pictures of a parent's newborn.You can admire their love, but you only need one picture or two, not the whole photo album.
Overall, it was when the author was showing his heart in this book,
and not his brain, that I was really enjoying it. But both the way he thought about running, and the feelings it creates, have resonated with me. As I write this, passages are still being deciphered in my head, clarified, and the book is one you can pick up again and again and find wonderful new morsels.
It is difficult to do such a meaty book justice in a review. If it is any indication, "Running With the Pack" is of the most highlighted books on my kindle. While I was reading it, I wanted to tell others about it, get their thoughts and opinions, and this is a sign it took a hold of me.
The author starts the novel at the starting chute of a marathon being "undercooked" having not trained for many weeks. Yet still he is going to run and acknowledges lying to himself about just running a portion to see how he feels. He knows full well he's going to keep going, and we get to hear his mental meanderings along the way.
The author goes back again and again to running for the sake of running and not for the end results of something else. Running is whe we find play and get back to 'knowing' what it's like to play and remember things we have only known as a child. Getting wrapped up in the run itself is something that makes this life worthwhile.
You won't find the typical "Just Do It,""Run Strong", or some Prefontaine or Sheehan slogans (both of whom I love) that will serve as mantras. What you will find are perhaps some of the deepest critical thinking of running you will ever read. Many parts will stick with me.
I loved his examination of the question "what do I think about when I run" and referred to this material for a blog post. If there is any mantra that the book left me with, it will be the idea that every run has its own heart beat you get lost in, and if you do happen to be thinking too much during a run, that means it has gone bad, or has not yet 'gone right.' 'The Heart-beat of the run' will be tattooed in your memory after reading how the author's descriptions.
I also loved the author pondering his decline of athleticism and mounting running injuries. No trite cliches to offer comfort, just more philosophical discourse on mortality. Yes, we are all a running tragedy, born as runners to get slower before we die, but first becoming more often injured as we age, never to fully recover. Soon we will run less, and eventually stop running altogether. This may be the only book where you will see Sartre's nihilist thoughts examined alongside a marathon route, and to help find meaning in running injuries and our tragic human predicament. While I may tell myself "my brain is just an organ asking me to slow, I don't have to listen to it", this author brings out not just philosophy 101, but snippets of Grad class.
This is not pop-culture philosophy, this is Socratic dialogue, and some of his mental discourse was incredibly interesting to follow. Other times I got bored, skimmed, found myself outside of the heartbeat of the read, but after a few more miles it got right back in a groove I could totally keep pace with. When he spoke of the animals he ran with, it was clear the power of 'running with the pack' had on him, but at times it was like being shown one too many pictures of a parent's newborn.You can admire their love, but you only need one picture or two, not the whole photo album.
Overall, it was when the author was showing his heart in this book,
and not his brain, that I was really enjoying it. But both the way he thought about running, and the feelings it creates, have resonated with me. As I write this, passages are still being deciphered in my head, clarified, and the book is one you can pick up again and again and find wonderful new morsels.
It is difficult to do such a meaty book justice in a review. If it is any indication, "Running With the Pack" is of the most highlighted books on my kindle. While I was reading it, I wanted to tell others about it, get their thoughts and opinions, and this is a sign it took a hold of me.
June 29, 2016
"It is indeed a form of worship, an attempt to find God, a means to the transcendent...I have power, power that propels me cross country, puts me intimately in touch with nature, strengthens me.....I own the day" This is the description that Joel Henning attributes to running in his very enjoyable 1978 book Holistic Running. He describes the magnificence of running throughout the year, the beauty to be felt during a sunrise and how both mentally and physically running prepares him for the day ahead.
I have been a runner myself for some 40 years and complete even today a number of competitive races of varying distance always remembering the inspiration that I got not only from Henning's book but also James Fixxs' superb The Complete Book of running where he not only looks at the physical but also the psychological benefits.
So what has Mark Rowlands, as a philosopher and dedicated runner got to offer to the running community that books from a bygone era may not have discussed or been aware of...the answer is not a lot really! A 48 year old man battling against the onset of injuries attempting to complete a marathon "I am a tissue of injuries, scars and weaknesses sown together in the mere semblance of a man" The impression I got from reading this book is that the author did not actually enjoy running but did attribute his inner calm and inner thoughts to the run...."It is something I understand only in moments and then it is gone. But those may be the most important moments of my life"
I found the book heavy on philosophy and philosophical jargon and not enough time spent on actual running and what this did and how it made him feel. This is probably not unexpected as Rowlands is a professor of philosophy.
Running and the marathon that he is training for appears to be secondary to his ramblings and thoughts indeed he openly admits that his running ability is poor with little incentive and no natural aptitude..."My current situation is that I am running, or at least trying to run, a marathon. I have no natural aptitude for this, quite the contrary in fact. I haven't even been able to train very much; in fact training has gone very badly indeed." In those rare moments when Rowlands manages to return the readers to the "run" he does manage to contribute some valuable and important insight..."Running is the embodied apprehension of intrinsic value in life. This is the meaning of running. This is what running really is."..."Running is a place for remembering. It is in this place that we find the meaning of running."
Probably the greatest compliment and deepest thought is when at the start of chapter one there is a simple quote from Emil Zatopek, the great Czech distance runner of the 1950's..."If you want to run, run a mile. But if you want to experience another life run a marathon." So for me this book had a few highs, a number of interesting insights and some memorable quotes but in the final analysis the running was sacrificed at the expense of philosophical insights.
I have been a runner myself for some 40 years and complete even today a number of competitive races of varying distance always remembering the inspiration that I got not only from Henning's book but also James Fixxs' superb The Complete Book of running where he not only looks at the physical but also the psychological benefits.
So what has Mark Rowlands, as a philosopher and dedicated runner got to offer to the running community that books from a bygone era may not have discussed or been aware of...the answer is not a lot really! A 48 year old man battling against the onset of injuries attempting to complete a marathon "I am a tissue of injuries, scars and weaknesses sown together in the mere semblance of a man" The impression I got from reading this book is that the author did not actually enjoy running but did attribute his inner calm and inner thoughts to the run...."It is something I understand only in moments and then it is gone. But those may be the most important moments of my life"
I found the book heavy on philosophy and philosophical jargon and not enough time spent on actual running and what this did and how it made him feel. This is probably not unexpected as Rowlands is a professor of philosophy.
Running and the marathon that he is training for appears to be secondary to his ramblings and thoughts indeed he openly admits that his running ability is poor with little incentive and no natural aptitude..."My current situation is that I am running, or at least trying to run, a marathon. I have no natural aptitude for this, quite the contrary in fact. I haven't even been able to train very much; in fact training has gone very badly indeed." In those rare moments when Rowlands manages to return the readers to the "run" he does manage to contribute some valuable and important insight..."Running is the embodied apprehension of intrinsic value in life. This is the meaning of running. This is what running really is."..."Running is a place for remembering. It is in this place that we find the meaning of running."
Probably the greatest compliment and deepest thought is when at the start of chapter one there is a simple quote from Emil Zatopek, the great Czech distance runner of the 1950's..."If you want to run, run a mile. But if you want to experience another life run a marathon." So for me this book had a few highs, a number of interesting insights and some memorable quotes but in the final analysis the running was sacrificed at the expense of philosophical insights.
June 29, 2016
Heavy on philosophy light on running "It is indeed a form of worship, an attempt to find God, a means to the transcendent...I have power, power that propels me cross country, puts me intimately in touch with nature, strengthens me.....I own the day" This is the description that Joel Henning attributes to running in his very enjoyable 1978 book Holistic Running. He describes the magnificence of running throughout the year, the beauty to be felt during a sunrise and how both mentally and physically running prepares him for the day ahead.
I have been a runner myself for some 40 years and complete even today a number of competitive races of varying distance always remembering the inspiration that I got not only from Henning's book but also James Fixxs' superb The Complete Book of running where he not only looks at the physical but also the psychological benefits.
So what has Mark Rowlands, as a philosopher and dedicated runner got to offer to the running community that books from a bygone era may not have discussed or been aware of...the answer is not a lot really! A 48 year old man battling against the onset of injuries attempting to complete a marathon "I am a tissue of injuries, scars and weaknesses sown together in the mere semblance of a man" The impression I got from reading this book is that the author did not actually enjoy running but did attribute his inner calm and inner thoughts to the run...."It is something I understand only in moments and then it is gone. But those may be the most important moments of my life"
I found the book heavy on philosophy and philosophical jargon and not enough time spent on actual running and what this did and how it made him feel. This is probably not unexpected as Rowlands is a professor of philosophy.
Running and the marathon that he is training for appears to be secondary to his ramblings and thoughts indeed he openly admits that his running ability is poor with little incentive and no natural aptitude..."My current situation is that I am running, or at least trying to run, a marathon. I have no natural aptitude for this, quite the contrary in fact. I haven't even been able to train very much; in fact training has gone very badly indeed." In those rare moments when Rowlands manages to return the readers to the "run" he does manage to contribute some valuable and important insight..."Running is the embodied apprehension of intrinsic value in life. This is the meaning of running. This is what running really is."..."Running is a place for remembering. It is in this place that we find the meaning of running."
Probably the greatest compliment and deepest thought is when at the start of chapter one there is a simple quote from Emil Zatopek, the great Czech distance runner of the 1950's..."If you want to run, run a mile. But if you want to experience another life run a marathon." So for me this book had a few highs, a number of interesting insights and some memorable quotes but in the final analysis the running was sacrificed at the expense of philosophical insights.
I have been a runner myself for some 40 years and complete even today a number of competitive races of varying distance always remembering the inspiration that I got not only from Henning's book but also James Fixxs' superb The Complete Book of running where he not only looks at the physical but also the psychological benefits.
So what has Mark Rowlands, as a philosopher and dedicated runner got to offer to the running community that books from a bygone era may not have discussed or been aware of...the answer is not a lot really! A 48 year old man battling against the onset of injuries attempting to complete a marathon "I am a tissue of injuries, scars and weaknesses sown together in the mere semblance of a man" The impression I got from reading this book is that the author did not actually enjoy running but did attribute his inner calm and inner thoughts to the run...."It is something I understand only in moments and then it is gone. But those may be the most important moments of my life"
I found the book heavy on philosophy and philosophical jargon and not enough time spent on actual running and what this did and how it made him feel. This is probably not unexpected as Rowlands is a professor of philosophy.
Running and the marathon that he is training for appears to be secondary to his ramblings and thoughts indeed he openly admits that his running ability is poor with little incentive and no natural aptitude..."My current situation is that I am running, or at least trying to run, a marathon. I have no natural aptitude for this, quite the contrary in fact. I haven't even been able to train very much; in fact training has gone very badly indeed." In those rare moments when Rowlands manages to return the readers to the "run" he does manage to contribute some valuable and important insight..."Running is the embodied apprehension of intrinsic value in life. This is the meaning of running. This is what running really is."..."Running is a place for remembering. It is in this place that we find the meaning of running."
Probably the greatest compliment and deepest thought is when at the start of chapter one there is a simple quote from Emil Zatopek, the great Czech distance runner of the 1950's..."If you want to run, run a mile. But if you want to experience another life run a marathon." So for me this book had a few highs, a number of interesting insights and some memorable quotes but in the final analysis the running was sacrificed at the expense of philosophical insights.
November 22, 2020
I wasn't completely convinced by the central argument that some things (including running) have intrinsic value and this is what gives life meaning, and found the structure and writing style a hindrance at times. But as a reflection on what is important in life I thought it was excellent.
April 13, 2013
What a fascinating, engaging and easily accessible exploration of running and philosophy. A great read. Highly recommended for runners in particular.
March 14, 2014
Rowlands's arguments draw judiciously on theory, empirical research and anecdote. Aside from a little repetition, he is an evocative writer. In one chapter, for example, he moves from jogging in Florida (with a cameo by Rimbaud) to snakes, Eden and Genesis, to entropy and decay, and back to what slithers: the worms that we are, and which will devour us. More Lockean associations than logical step-by-step, these passages are arresting.
Rowlands's account of love, in the same chapter, is striking. "Love is the acknowledgment that there is a bad end in store for all of us," he writes. All sentient beings have a tragic bond of mortality and deserve generosity and care. (Rowlands's 2008 bestseller about rearing a wolf, The Philosopher and the Wolf, featured a lot of running.) This is closer to 18th-century ideas of "sympathy" than the modern ideal of love. But in Rowlands's hands it is neither nostalgic not anachronistic.
As this suggests, some of Rowlands's ideas are not strictly about jogging. But the thoughts arise as he runs, and are related to exercise's revelation of value in a world of anxiety, agony and rot.
Running with the Pack is a lucid, touching book, modern in its prose and sophistication, classical in its concern with human flourishing. It is also a helpful reminder for those of us with short legs and thinning lungs: even bad joggers can savour the Good.
Read the full review here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/...
Rowlands's account of love, in the same chapter, is striking. "Love is the acknowledgment that there is a bad end in store for all of us," he writes. All sentient beings have a tragic bond of mortality and deserve generosity and care. (Rowlands's 2008 bestseller about rearing a wolf, The Philosopher and the Wolf, featured a lot of running.) This is closer to 18th-century ideas of "sympathy" than the modern ideal of love. But in Rowlands's hands it is neither nostalgic not anachronistic.
As this suggests, some of Rowlands's ideas are not strictly about jogging. But the thoughts arise as he runs, and are related to exercise's revelation of value in a world of anxiety, agony and rot.
Running with the Pack is a lucid, touching book, modern in its prose and sophistication, classical in its concern with human flourishing. It is also a helpful reminder for those of us with short legs and thinning lungs: even bad joggers can savour the Good.
Read the full review here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/...
April 19, 2013
Welsh philosophy prof Rowlands pens a memoir detailing some of the long runs over the course of his life and the the meditations linked to them. It's easy for me to imagine this being a very unsatisfactory read for many: runners put off by the philosophy, academics equally irritated by all the running, but it struck me as near perfect, the two main threads a complementary balance. Given my fondness for Schopenhauer, which as it turned out late in the book Rowlands unsurprisingly shares, my delight may be mostly a case of sympathetic viewpoints, but I think anyone with a taste for more literary running books, like Haruki Murakami's "What I Talk About when I Talk about Running" and enjoys contemporary philosophy aimed at a general, rather than an academic audience, will enjoy this book.
November 5, 2013
"Joy is the experience - the recognition of intrinsic value in life. Joy is the recognition of the things that are valuable for their own sake: the things in life that are worthy of love."
Third book by Mark Rowlands I've read and equally as good as the others. Can't wait to read the rest of his books.
Third book by Mark Rowlands I've read and equally as good as the others. Can't wait to read the rest of his books.
October 31, 2014
Ένα απίστευτο βιβλίο για όσους θέλουν να εμβαθύνουν την αντίληψη τους για το τρέξιμο και να ξανασκεφτούν το νόημα της ζωής, τις ´εγγενείς´ αξίες και την ουσιαστική σημασία της χαράς.
November 29, 2014
Recomendable. Reseña completa en español:
http://www.libros-prohibidos.com/mark...
http://www.libros-prohibidos.com/mark...
March 5, 2017
Good grief. I wish I'd seen the small tag line, and had more idea this was largely philosophy with dashes of running. I struggled through 26 pages of pretentious waffling drivel before giving up. "What is the meaning of life?" - not wasting too much of it on things like this.
September 26, 2015
Some of the theories are hard to follow in places, but on the whole it's another good book from Mark Rowlands.
Read
March 31, 2016One of my all time favorite running books. Life lessons and a bit of philosophy in each chapter, "Running, I shall argue, is a way of understanding what is important or valuable in life. "
October 25, 2016
Not entirely convinced by Rowlands abilities as a storyteller but aside from that there is brilliantly explained and accessible philosophy to be had in this book. Would definitely read more from him.
October 8, 2018
Definitivamente não o meu estilo literário e não achei conteúdo naquilo que li.
September 23, 2020
Philosopher + Runner = all kinds of confusion xD
December 15, 2024
Book Forty Nine of 2024: some thoughts
- it became a bit too religious for me in the middle
- running can be an end in and of itself
- one of the goals for me when I run is for the mind and the body and the world to become as close as it is possible for them to become
- for me running is both The Work and The Play
- interesting thoughts about "the heartbeat of the run"
- the eternal question: what does it mean to be happy
- and how I can never, ever live in the moment and what an eternal shame this is. Running is the closest I ever come to this
- it became a bit too religious for me in the middle
- running can be an end in and of itself
- one of the goals for me when I run is for the mind and the body and the world to become as close as it is possible for them to become
- for me running is both The Work and The Play
- interesting thoughts about "the heartbeat of the run"
- the eternal question: what does it mean to be happy
- and how I can never, ever live in the moment and what an eternal shame this is. Running is the closest I ever come to this
August 8, 2023
من این کتاب رو با ترجمه ی آقای سیروس قهرمانی از نشر خزه خوندم . ترجمه بسیار روان و گیراست که به درک بهتر مفاهیم کتاب کمک میکنه. در کل کتاب بسیار خوبی بود و باید به دقت و با تاَمل خونده بشه. در طی متن کتاب نویسنده ما رو با مفاهیم زیادی آشنا می کنه و در باب زندگی روایت هایی داره که عمدتا با نگاهی فلسفی به زندگی آمیخته شده .
September 20, 2023
Dichtgeklapt na ongeveer 1/4 van het boek.
Het begint goed, over lopen als niet instrumentele activiteit, de intrinsieke waarde van lopen as such in de verf zettend… maar dan vergaat het te snel in al te filosofische afdwalingen naar descartes, cicero & co. En lopen als uitspatting van een midlife crisis… Dat leidt me wat te ver
Het begint goed, over lopen als niet instrumentele activiteit, de intrinsieke waarde van lopen as such in de verf zettend… maar dan vergaat het te snel in al te filosofische afdwalingen naar descartes, cicero & co. En lopen als uitspatting van een midlife crisis… Dat leidt me wat te ver
March 31, 2022
One of the running books I enjoyed most reading. I love the combination of simplicity and depth, and above all his love and understanding of running. I am sure I will reread in the not so far future.
August 10, 2024
Pretty tame but refreshing look at some philosophical perspectives about running. The idea of running as an example of intrinsic value stuck with me, though for me I still the problem of identifying and holding on to intrinsic value a pressing one, especially past a time where one can be enveloped in the activity and its value.
June 6, 2022
Loved this one.
It approaches similar points to When Breath Becomes Air and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but a bit differently.
But yeah, great book, made me think a lot.
It approaches similar points to When Breath Becomes Air and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but a bit differently.
But yeah, great book, made me think a lot.
April 14, 2023
Adoro o autor, mas algumas partes ficaram um bocado confusas na tradução para português (Ana Pedroso de Lima). Acho que gostei mais d’O Filósofo e o Lobo.
September 19, 2022
I’d like to revisit this book in the future. It was a good book, I just can’t relate to most of it at this time in my life.
August 22, 2013
Despite that I found his book The Philosopher and The Wolf a mix of profound, intriguing and disappointingly self-righteous with misanthropic tendencies, I eagerly got this on special offer from Kindle. I took up running just over a year ago and hadn’t yet read any books on the subject. As somebody who does a lot of his thinking while running (particularly about his next writing project), I was drawn to the fusing of marathon running and philosophy – right up my street considering this new found passion for a form of exercise I used to loath.
The format feels like running a marathon from the early stages (not that I have run one but I imagine it would feel this way) – The self-doubt as you step up to the line in Chapter One and think back on all the preparation you have made for this race… getting ready… here we go… why am I doing this? Will my calf survive? Will I survive? He looks at the Ultra Marathons of Hard Rock and Des Sables and decides that this marathon will be quite enough. Chapter two is finding one’s feet in the early stages, the first floundering years of lacking in experience of this – not thinking about it and preparing to settle in for a comforting life (the innocence of childhood on one hand and the idea that this marathon will be a breeze on the other).
Chapter three takes him into his twenties – the prime of life where he is finding his stride and he talks about his four-legged friends including Brenin, the subject of his other book. Those who have read the other book will not find much new here because if I recall correctly, he discusses his runs with Brenin in that book. Chapter 4 – the middle sections, shows how he has moved into the prime of life, and of the race and it settling in for a comfortable ride. We get plenty of anecdotes about his life as well as his thoughts about running, his animals, his career and new found family life all the way with quotes and thoughts from the great philosophers.
And this is pretty much the fashion the book carries on until we reach those final chapters – the final stages of the race and that relief of where we are going… how much farther to go and finally “you’re here, enjoy the moment”. Yes, this book feels like a marathon in its format but certainly not in its length.
This book is well-written; the narrative flows rather well and before I knew it I was halfway through the book. His anecdotes and private thoughts give intimacy to the text. It will make you laugh at times; at others you will be compelled to stop and think for a moment. His observations on the differences between American and British views on work and play are particularly compelling. I’d thought it before but only when you see a Brit who has lived over here and over there, seeing both sides for what they are critically and without judgement do you finally understand these differences.
In a way, it is a shame that this was not published after the Boston bomb, it would have been enlightening to discover how he would have written this with that event in mind.
A far better read than The Philosopher and the Wolf and far less preachy or misanthropic (despite having a lengthy and interesting discussion on Schopenhauer and The Fall around chapter 4)
See more book reviews at my blog
The format feels like running a marathon from the early stages (not that I have run one but I imagine it would feel this way) – The self-doubt as you step up to the line in Chapter One and think back on all the preparation you have made for this race… getting ready… here we go… why am I doing this? Will my calf survive? Will I survive? He looks at the Ultra Marathons of Hard Rock and Des Sables and decides that this marathon will be quite enough. Chapter two is finding one’s feet in the early stages, the first floundering years of lacking in experience of this – not thinking about it and preparing to settle in for a comforting life (the innocence of childhood on one hand and the idea that this marathon will be a breeze on the other).
Chapter three takes him into his twenties – the prime of life where he is finding his stride and he talks about his four-legged friends including Brenin, the subject of his other book. Those who have read the other book will not find much new here because if I recall correctly, he discusses his runs with Brenin in that book. Chapter 4 – the middle sections, shows how he has moved into the prime of life, and of the race and it settling in for a comfortable ride. We get plenty of anecdotes about his life as well as his thoughts about running, his animals, his career and new found family life all the way with quotes and thoughts from the great philosophers.
And this is pretty much the fashion the book carries on until we reach those final chapters – the final stages of the race and that relief of where we are going… how much farther to go and finally “you’re here, enjoy the moment”. Yes, this book feels like a marathon in its format but certainly not in its length.
This book is well-written; the narrative flows rather well and before I knew it I was halfway through the book. His anecdotes and private thoughts give intimacy to the text. It will make you laugh at times; at others you will be compelled to stop and think for a moment. His observations on the differences between American and British views on work and play are particularly compelling. I’d thought it before but only when you see a Brit who has lived over here and over there, seeing both sides for what they are critically and without judgement do you finally understand these differences.
In a way, it is a shame that this was not published after the Boston bomb, it would have been enlightening to discover how he would have written this with that event in mind.
A far better read than The Philosopher and the Wolf and far less preachy or misanthropic (despite having a lengthy and interesting discussion on Schopenhauer and The Fall around chapter 4)
See more book reviews at my blog
January 9, 2019
"The purpose and value of running is simply to run. Running is one of the places in life where the points or purposes stop. As such, running is one of the things that can make life worth the trouble." - page 184
In Running with the Pack, Mark Rowlands recounts the many eventful runs he has made with his pack of dogs and ultimately provides a wonderful meditation on the merits of running; while exploring and applying various philosophical concepts with the aim of ascertaining what is the essential value and joy of running.
I was continually reminded of Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running while reading this, and Rowland even references Murakami's earlier work. However, I bring up the comparison, because, like Murakami's memoir, it is very rare for a personal account to so intimately describe the joyful and painful experience of running; as well as its influence on someone's personality and outlook on life. I consider Running with the Pack to be a perfect companion and further expansion to What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, even if both authors come to a slightly different conclusion about the true value of running.
Previously I had read and thoroughly enjoyed Rowlands' The Philosopher at the End of the Universe and Everything I Know I Learned from TV and like those two previous explorations of philosophy, Rowlands employs an easily-relatable and highly comical tone in conveying, through simple but amusing analogies, what would otherwise be highly complicated and dry philosophical concepts.
An avid runner myself, I can attest to what Rowlands' is exploring in trying to identify what is unique; even religious and spiritual, about the process of running. I think he makes a compelling philosophical case for showcasing the inherent philosophical value of running and why running is something that everyone should undertake at some point in their lives. If not to gain the health benefits... then to realize what it is to live a full and free life.
"Running with this pack is the clearest possible expression of my humanity: the perfect congruence of what I am and what I am supposed to be. Along these gusty, winding, plunging country lanes, with wolves and dogs, I am returned to the formal and material cause that I am: a big-arsed ape that has been designed to run." - page 70
In Running with the Pack, Mark Rowlands recounts the many eventful runs he has made with his pack of dogs and ultimately provides a wonderful meditation on the merits of running; while exploring and applying various philosophical concepts with the aim of ascertaining what is the essential value and joy of running.
I was continually reminded of Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running while reading this, and Rowland even references Murakami's earlier work. However, I bring up the comparison, because, like Murakami's memoir, it is very rare for a personal account to so intimately describe the joyful and painful experience of running; as well as its influence on someone's personality and outlook on life. I consider Running with the Pack to be a perfect companion and further expansion to What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, even if both authors come to a slightly different conclusion about the true value of running.
Previously I had read and thoroughly enjoyed Rowlands' The Philosopher at the End of the Universe and Everything I Know I Learned from TV and like those two previous explorations of philosophy, Rowlands employs an easily-relatable and highly comical tone in conveying, through simple but amusing analogies, what would otherwise be highly complicated and dry philosophical concepts.
An avid runner myself, I can attest to what Rowlands' is exploring in trying to identify what is unique; even religious and spiritual, about the process of running. I think he makes a compelling philosophical case for showcasing the inherent philosophical value of running and why running is something that everyone should undertake at some point in their lives. If not to gain the health benefits... then to realize what it is to live a full and free life.
"Running with this pack is the clearest possible expression of my humanity: the perfect congruence of what I am and what I am supposed to be. Along these gusty, winding, plunging country lanes, with wolves and dogs, I am returned to the formal and material cause that I am: a big-arsed ape that has been designed to run." - page 70
June 17, 2019
An odd book really, and one that could have gone either way, but I ended up really liking it.
Mark Rowlands, at the start, openly admits that the structure of the book is pretty much going to be a rambling collection of thoughts, wired together by a few threads, but otherwise it's very much a 'come along for the ride' kind of thing.
The general argument he makes is incredibly similar in many ways to Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture I read a few months back; he argues that life is given meaning by those moments that we immerse ourselves utterly in an activity for its own sake. There is no intrinsic value to gain from 'play' (which for the purpose of this book is running) and that this is what gives us sheer, deep, philosophical and existential joy as opposed to sheer pleasure or any other instrumental activity that is called 'work'.
He explores a lot of philosophers and ideas I knew about but does so in a new way that made them more relevant than I had ever thought them. He talks about Cartesian Dualism, for instance, in a way that made it much more approachable and acceptable than ever I thought. I'm not a convert yet, and neither is Rowlands, but there are some interesting observations. He also goes into Sartre, Hume, Wittgenstein, Spinoza, Heidegger, and Schlick in great detail, but also maintaining a high level of accessibility.
The reason it dropped a star, for me, was that sometimes the lack of structure meant that it became repetitive at times. Also, I felt he went into far too much detail into his dogs and their lives along the way. I know that he wrote a separate book on and about this, and I deliberately avoided that one! But, the observations he makes regarding their sheer capacity for play was well made - just a little too heavily for me at times.
So, a book I could easily have hated but didn't. It is essentially an intelligent and well educated philosopher ruminating on running, but also play in general, and I enjoyed the process!
Mark Rowlands, at the start, openly admits that the structure of the book is pretty much going to be a rambling collection of thoughts, wired together by a few threads, but otherwise it's very much a 'come along for the ride' kind of thing.
The general argument he makes is incredibly similar in many ways to Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture I read a few months back; he argues that life is given meaning by those moments that we immerse ourselves utterly in an activity for its own sake. There is no intrinsic value to gain from 'play' (which for the purpose of this book is running) and that this is what gives us sheer, deep, philosophical and existential joy as opposed to sheer pleasure or any other instrumental activity that is called 'work'.
He explores a lot of philosophers and ideas I knew about but does so in a new way that made them more relevant than I had ever thought them. He talks about Cartesian Dualism, for instance, in a way that made it much more approachable and acceptable than ever I thought. I'm not a convert yet, and neither is Rowlands, but there are some interesting observations. He also goes into Sartre, Hume, Wittgenstein, Spinoza, Heidegger, and Schlick in great detail, but also maintaining a high level of accessibility.
The reason it dropped a star, for me, was that sometimes the lack of structure meant that it became repetitive at times. Also, I felt he went into far too much detail into his dogs and their lives along the way. I know that he wrote a separate book on and about this, and I deliberately avoided that one! But, the observations he makes regarding their sheer capacity for play was well made - just a little too heavily for me at times.
So, a book I could easily have hated but didn't. It is essentially an intelligent and well educated philosopher ruminating on running, but also play in general, and I enjoyed the process!
April 21, 2013
Mark Rowlands is a philosopher who keeps big dogs and likes to run, and this book concerns those three topics in roughly that order. I enjoyed the book for the author's seemingly honest attempt to make sense of why he runs, using his grounding in Western philosophy to do so. Unlike 'Born to Run', for example, which seemed to be trying too hard to make everything fit a preconceived theory, Mark Rowlands comes across as genuinely curious and open to discovery, letting his experience of
running guide his theorising rather than vice versa.
He warns us in the introduction that the book will flow a bit like a long run, by which I expected he meant it would be tight and focused in the beginning, fall apart through sheer exhaustion somewhere towards the
middle, then pick up again with a final burst of effort at the end. I would say that was a reasonable summary. His main point is that running is a meaningful activity only when it has intrinsic value, ie when we are running for the sake of running (play), rather than as a means to an end (work). When we run playfully we become free. It's hard to disagree with this, but I couldn't help but feel that he could have said the same thing using a lot fewer words, and without so much repetition. There was definitely a mid-race / book slump when my brain began to hurt and I started wishing the whole thing would end. I couldn't help wondering if the book wasn't a bit constrained by its single-minded focus on Western philosophy. Perhaps an exploration of running from a Buddhist perspective would have proved more enlightening - Zen and the Art of Running, anyone? (In fact, I now see that there has been a book published with just this title, but it appears to be a training manual rather than a philosophical examination. So the field remains open).
running guide his theorising rather than vice versa.
He warns us in the introduction that the book will flow a bit like a long run, by which I expected he meant it would be tight and focused in the beginning, fall apart through sheer exhaustion somewhere towards the
middle, then pick up again with a final burst of effort at the end. I would say that was a reasonable summary. His main point is that running is a meaningful activity only when it has intrinsic value, ie when we are running for the sake of running (play), rather than as a means to an end (work). When we run playfully we become free. It's hard to disagree with this, but I couldn't help but feel that he could have said the same thing using a lot fewer words, and without so much repetition. There was definitely a mid-race / book slump when my brain began to hurt and I started wishing the whole thing would end. I couldn't help wondering if the book wasn't a bit constrained by its single-minded focus on Western philosophy. Perhaps an exploration of running from a Buddhist perspective would have proved more enlightening - Zen and the Art of Running, anyone? (In fact, I now see that there has been a book published with just this title, but it appears to be a training manual rather than a philosophical examination. So the field remains open).
October 28, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It has a great mix of two interesting and, one would have thought, disparate topics - philosophy and running. Rowlands' central thesis is written in response to the seemingly simple question - why do we run?
In answering this question he looks at the concept of value, dividing value into two types - instrumental and intrinsic value. Things that have instrumental value have no real value in and of themselves. Rather, they have value because they serve as a means to and ends. Things with intrinsic value have value simply for what they are. People may value running for its instrumental value - it makes us healthy, helps us lose weight, provides a sense of achievement, etc. However, Rowlands argues that running in fact has an intrinsic value; it is something that we should be able to enjoy just for the act of doing it.
He links this argument to the concepts of work and play. Actions we take to gain things of instrumental value tend to fall into the category of work, whereas actions we take simply for their intrinsic value fall more into the category of play. Culturally, we have been conditioned to value work over play; play is something for children. But Rowlands convincingly argues that due to the intrinsic value of play, it is in fact more fulfilling and meaningful than work.
In finding the intrinsic value of running, Rowlands argues that we may actually be able to find a deeper level of meaning and fulfilment in our life. In developing this argument, Rowlands shares a number of stories relating to significant runs in his life. This deeply personal way of exploring the ideas in the book helps keep the philosophical discussion interesting and easy enough to access.
4.5 stars.
In answering this question he looks at the concept of value, dividing value into two types - instrumental and intrinsic value. Things that have instrumental value have no real value in and of themselves. Rather, they have value because they serve as a means to and ends. Things with intrinsic value have value simply for what they are. People may value running for its instrumental value - it makes us healthy, helps us lose weight, provides a sense of achievement, etc. However, Rowlands argues that running in fact has an intrinsic value; it is something that we should be able to enjoy just for the act of doing it.
He links this argument to the concepts of work and play. Actions we take to gain things of instrumental value tend to fall into the category of work, whereas actions we take simply for their intrinsic value fall more into the category of play. Culturally, we have been conditioned to value work over play; play is something for children. But Rowlands convincingly argues that due to the intrinsic value of play, it is in fact more fulfilling and meaningful than work.
In finding the intrinsic value of running, Rowlands argues that we may actually be able to find a deeper level of meaning and fulfilment in our life. In developing this argument, Rowlands shares a number of stories relating to significant runs in his life. This deeply personal way of exploring the ideas in the book helps keep the philosophical discussion interesting and easy enough to access.
4.5 stars.
November 2, 2014
Part memoir, part philosophical treatise, part sports book, Running With The Pack
Rowlands starts each chapter with a reminiscence about a particular run that has meaning for him, and uses this as a jumping-off point to explore a philosophical idea, and how that idea might apply to running and to life. He talks about work vs play and games, about freedom, and about instrumental vs intrinsic value, as well an meaning, nothingness and grappling with the idea of death.
While I didn't agree with some of his premises (I'm not as bleak as he is about existentialist ideas meaning, for example), I think he does an excellent job of articulating why running is intrinsically enjoyable, and the mental space it creates for reflection.
Rowlands does most of his running with his dogs, and he is also skilled at describing the in-the-moment joy that dogs exhibit; and relating this to how humans play and seek meaning (or grapple with lack of meaning).
It makes a good companion to Haruki Murakami's What I Talk Abut When I Talk About Running. It won''t make you a better runner, but it will make you understand why you do it. If you don't run, I think that you would find something to enjoy in this book if there's something in your life that you can lose yourself in.
Rowlands starts each chapter with a reminiscence about a particular run that has meaning for him, and uses this as a jumping-off point to explore a philosophical idea, and how that idea might apply to running and to life. He talks about work vs play and games, about freedom, and about instrumental vs intrinsic value, as well an meaning, nothingness and grappling with the idea of death.
While I didn't agree with some of his premises (I'm not as bleak as he is about existentialist ideas meaning, for example), I think he does an excellent job of articulating why running is intrinsically enjoyable, and the mental space it creates for reflection.
Rowlands does most of his running with his dogs, and he is also skilled at describing the in-the-moment joy that dogs exhibit; and relating this to how humans play and seek meaning (or grapple with lack of meaning).
It makes a good companion to Haruki Murakami's What I Talk Abut When I Talk About Running. It won''t make you a better runner, but it will make you understand why you do it. If you don't run, I think that you would find something to enjoy in this book if there's something in your life that you can lose yourself in.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews