Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Walking vs. Stillness

In our book, The Philosophy of Walking, it says Montaigne talked about his proumenoir and that to stimulate his thinking, to move reflection forward, and to deepen inventiveness, the mind needs an active body. I agree and disagree
with Montaigne. While I believe that having an active body does stimulate thought without a doubt and that sometimes sitting still and trying to think through things with a passive body, does not work nearly as well as with an active body, I also believe that in certain cases, meditation is just as good at stimulating the mind as being active. Many people meditate to think through certain things in their lives, to get rid of all distractions so they can purely focus on what they are trying to solve. Also, they will meditate for other matters that require inward thinking and peace. Walking usually will not offer as profound a peace as will meditating just because of the distractions all around when walking. So in my opinion, walking is not the only way to stimulate thinking, to move reflection forward, and to deepen inventiveness as Monraigne puts it. Do you think that walking is the only way, or that stillness can also help? Which works best for you?

2 comments:

  1. Like you say, perhaps we need an active body and an active mind. But I do think that walking still offers the same profound peace. I wouldn't say the things around you when walking are distractions. When you meditate there is inward thinking that can provide clarity, but the 'distractions' found when walking might not distract but lead to self-reflection

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  2. (H3) I believe that thinking can be improved in both settings, some people think better while walking and some prefer stillness and silence. For me personally walking works best for thinking.

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