Climbing - Philosophy for Everyone: Because It's There - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1444334867 ISBN 13: 9781444334869

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010

Synopsis

Climbing - Philosophy for Everyone presents a collection of intellectually stimulating new essays that address the philosophical issues relating to risk, ethics, and other aspects of climbing that are of interest to everyone from novice climbers to seasoned mountaineers.

• Represents the first collection of essays to exclusively address the many philosophical aspects of climbing
• Includes essays that challenge commonly accepted views of climbing and climbing ethics
• Written accessibly, this book will appeal to everyone from novice climbers to seasoned mountaineers
• Includes a foreword written by Hans Florine
• Shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, 2010

About this title

From the Back Cover:

CLIMBING
PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYONE

Both climbing and philosophy are serious endeavors. However, if you make a mistake while engaging in philosophy, it may be ego-bruising, but it won't kill you. In mountain and rock climbing, even the simplest error in judgment can be life threatening. Given the inherent risks of most climbing pursuits, why would anyone subject themselves to "tying in"? What does the risk bring? Is it ever justified? And why do so many non-climbers find the inherent risks of climbing unacceptable?

Climbing – Philosophy for Everyone presents a thought-provoking collection of new essays that not only address the issue of why climbers engage in such an intrinsically risky pursuit, but also plunge into the philosophical void to consider such intellectually stimulating topics as:

• Character traits that climbing develops and that are most valuable for summit quests
• Ethical debates pertaining to rules defining climbing styles and ethics of free soloing
• Concerns about climbers' impact on the environment and the manufacturing of holds
• The hazards in evaluating one's own climbing abilities
• Climbing culture as a gift economy and the sheer beauty of climbing

Demonstrating the rich connections between climbing and philosophical reflection, Climbing – Philosophy for Everyone invites us to ponder aspects of behavior that can give deeper meaning to the challenges and struggles of everyday life.

About the Author:

Editor Stephen E. Schmid is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Rock County. His doctoral work was in philosophy of mind and his current research focuses on motivation in sport and education. Schmid has been playing in the mountains and on rock for more than 20 years.Series EditorFritz Allhoff is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University's Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, Allhoff is the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007).

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1444334867
• ISBN 13: 9781444334869
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 242
• Editor: Allhoff Fritz, Schmid Stephen E