Parker’s Pages: A Philosophy of Walking

Although Frédéric Gros is not native to the Puget Sound, and his book, A Philosophy of Walking, is not rooted in the Pacific Northwest, it has completely revolutionized how I navigate and experience the city of Seattle and the University District where I live. In a part of the world so close to nature with comfortable temperatures most of the year, and a large hiking, biking, and travel culture, A Philosophy of Walking feels like a necessary read. My own copy is a tabbed and dogeared, with many passages highlighted. In my mind, a tattered book is a well-loved book, and I hope you too can find love for this collection of musings on the simple act of walking.

A Philosophy of Walking by Frédéric Gros (paperback)

The Evergreen Echo

Frédéric Gros is a French Philosopher living in Paris with several other well-received philosophy books under his belt, including Disobey! A Philosophy of Resistance (2020), and his most recent publication, A Philosophy of Shame: A Revolutionary Emotion (2025). Based on these titles, it’s easy to assume that Gros is a radical thinker, and you wouldn’t be wrong. A Philosophy of Walking (originally published in 2008 and translated to English in 2014) is a revolutionary text, though the revolution takes place inside the reader more so than anywhere else.

To say that A Philosophy of Walking is simply about walking would be a gross understatement. It is not just about walking, but about how we think, how we interact with the world and with our bodies, and the conversations inside our hearts and minds that give us identity. There is a strong love for the process of walking in this book, and for the escapism and opportunity that walking without purpose provides. Gros approaches walking not as a means of getting from one place to another or as exercise, but almost as the opposite of productivity. The book encourages one to walk for the sake of walking, to take in sights, to live deeply in each moment, and feel all there is to feel.

In the opening passage, Gros says, “Walking is the best way to go more slowly than any other method that has ever been found.” Later he expands, “Slowness means cleaving perfectly to time, so closely that the seconds fall one by one, drop by drop like the steady dripping of a tap on stone,” meaning that walking is a way to experience time fully. A Philosophy of Walking is not a manual or workshop on how to slow time, but an exploration of what it means to get lost in the rhythm of one foot in front of another.         

Quote from Gros

The Evergreen Echo

Gros’ work lives in conversation with other philosophers, like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Søren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche, but also with poets like Arthur Rimbaud and Henry David Thoreau. Even with these big names in philosophy and literature, though, what I like most about this collection is its approachability. For anyone who hasn’t read philosophy books—both classical and/or contemporary (and I do envy you)—they can be particularly heavy reads. Not only is there a lot of theory, hyper-specific language, and often a lot of difficult thought experiments, but there is also a substantial amount of background needed to understand one philosopher’s reply to another, or their building upon another’s theory. While A Philosophy of Walking certainly piggybacks on the words of these great philosophers and poets, there is no prior reading necessary to understand it. John Howe also does a lot of heavy lifting as the translator, making sure to use common phrases and vernacular that make this book as easy to read as the walking it discusses.

When I say that reading this book has revolutionized how I experience the Puget Sound and Seattle, I mean that I now walk through nature trails and the city with a purpose other than travel. This novel has brought me a new appreciation for our area. Not only is there so much beauty to be found across Washington State and the PNW, but there is also so much to discover even close to home. As a frequent meanderer of the University of Washington campus and Cal Anderson Park (shout out to Hot Rat Summer!), I can safely say that A Philosophy of Walking has made my wandering so much more enjoyable.

Walking has become almost meditative, and I often think about how I am moving through the world, the emotions I am feeling, and the sensations in my body. Gros’ work encompasses all of it—the way that physical sensations tend to dissipate after walking for a long time, and the way that emotions seem to flow, from passion to melancholy to joy to gratitude. There is even a nod to the spiritual side of walking, including the words of Ghandi and the idea of spiritual pilgrimage.

Quote from Gros

The Evergreen Echo

While there are some places where I wish the book would say/do more—about walking in urban and city areas and including more voices that are not that of white men—there is so much to dig into. If you’re reading this book for the first time, I highly recommend using it almost as a prelude to a walk. Read a section, walk for a while, then read the next another day, and walk some more. If you are interested in philosophy, nature, meditation, or walking, this book is a great place to begin unlearning what you know and starting again, one step at a time.