[FRIAM] I am not Unique

[Russ Abbott]

Frank, Thanks for the link.

Agnes Callard, the author of the article, sneers at tourists who visit
Paris in order to visit the Louvre in order to see the Mona Lisa (and then
spend 45 seconds looking at it)--because that's what one does in Paris. But
presumably, Callard would find it perfectly acceptable to visit Paris in
order to visit the Louvre in order to see the Mona Lisa, and then spend
hours examining Da Vinci's brush strokes.

What's the difference between these two kinds of activities? Callard quotes
Emerson, who is not critical of "a person who travels when his
'necessities' or 'duties' demand it. Nor does Emerson object to traversing
great distances 'for the purpose of art, of study, and benevolence,'” as in
the case of the student of DaVinci's painting technique. Here's a clue.
Callard defines "tourism" as the kind of travel that aims at the
interesting—and, if Emerson and company are right, misses."

In other words, one will not find "the interesting" by going in search of
it. The same goes for happiness. One will not find happiness by going in
search of it. These are both consequences of other activities and make no
sense as stand-alone goals.

-- Russ Abbott
Professor Emeritus, Computer Science
California State University, Los Angeles


On Sat, Jun 24, 2023 at 2:13 PM Frank Wimberly <wimberly3 at gmail.com> wrote:

> https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-case-against-travel
>
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