Emily Thomas The Meaning of Travel

Does travel really broaden the mind? Associate Professor in Philosophy at Durham University, Emily Thomas's new book is the first on the philosophy of travel. Scouting the borders between travelling and thinking, Thomas begins with the Age of Discovery, delves into John Locke’s view of cannibals and David Thoreau’s ideas about the wilderness, ponders the popularity of mountains and confronts the ethics of the new trend of ‘doom tourism’.  Thomas looks at the philosophical value of travel - is it really worthwhile to grasp at alien things and puzzle over them, or would we be better off sitting quietly at home?