RETURN
On Habit
Xavier de Maistre
Wht does de Botton suggest are key elements of the “travelling mindset”? (p246-247)
“It was this dichotomy, ‘boring daily life’ pitted against ‘marvellous world’, that De Maistre had tried to redraw with greater subtlety.” (p253) What does this dichotomy suggest about the relationship between people and landscapes?
He quotes Friedrich Nietzsche who says, “… we are in the end tempted to divide mankind into a minority (a minimality) of those who know how to make much of little, and a majority of those who know how to make little of much.” (p253) Which category do you think you fit into? How might one work at learning how to fit into the former category rather than the latter?
Additional Texts:
Essay: The first and titular essay of G.K. Chesterton’s Tremendous Trifles
Sample Topic Sentences:
“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.” (p246)
“We have become habituated and therefore blind.” (p247)
“We meet people who have crossed deserts, floated on icecaps and cut their way through jungles – and yet in whose souls we would search in vain for evidence of what they have witnessed.” (p254)
The text as a whole:
Comment on de Botton’s selection and placement of images throughout the book.
What is the effect of the inclusion of de Botton’s own travel anecdotes and his references to M and their relationship throughout the text?
How would you describe de Botton’s tone throughout this text? What is the effect of this tone on the representation of people and landscapes?
What is the role of psychology in the art of travel?
What changes has the advent of social media made to how one might anticipate, travel and seek to possess beauty?
“We meet people who have crossed deserts, floated on icecaps and cut their way through jungles – and yet in whose souls we would search in vain for evidence of what they have witnessed.” (p254) What does this quote suggest is the most important outcome of travel?
On Habit
Xavier de Maistre
Wht does de Botton suggest are key elements of the “travelling mindset”? (p246-247)
“It was this dichotomy, ‘boring daily life’ pitted against ‘marvellous world’, that De Maistre had tried to redraw with greater subtlety.” (p253) What does this dichotomy suggest about the relationship between people and landscapes?
He quotes Friedrich Nietzsche who says, “… we are in the end tempted to divide mankind into a minority (a minimality) of those who know how to make much of little, and a majority of those who know how to make little of much.” (p253) Which category do you think you fit into? How might one work at learning how to fit into the former category rather than the latter?
Additional Texts:
Essay: The first and titular essay of G.K. Chesterton’s Tremendous Trifles
Sample Topic Sentences:
“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.” (p246)
“We have become habituated and therefore blind.” (p247)
“We meet people who have crossed deserts, floated on icecaps and cut their way through jungles – and yet in whose souls we would search in vain for evidence of what they have witnessed.” (p254)
The text as a whole:
Comment on de Botton’s selection and placement of images throughout the book.
What is the effect of the inclusion of de Botton’s own travel anecdotes and his references to M and their relationship throughout the text?
How would you describe de Botton’s tone throughout this text? What is the effect of this tone on the representation of people and landscapes?
What is the role of psychology in the art of travel?
What changes has the advent of social media made to how one might anticipate, travel and seek to possess beauty?
“We meet people who have crossed deserts, floated on icecaps and cut their way through jungles – and yet in whose souls we would search in vain for evidence of what they have witnessed.” (p254) What does this quote suggest is the most important outcome of travel?