Schmid - Climbing--philosophy for everyone : because its there

VOLUME EDITOR

STEPHEN E. SCHMID is Assistant 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 EDITOR

FRITZ ALLHOFF is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy
Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior
Research Fellow at the Australian National Universitys 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).

PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYONE

Series editor: Fritz Allhoff

Not so much a subject matter, philosophy is a way of thinking. Thinking not just about the Big Questions, but about little ones too. This series invites everyone to ponder things they care about, big or small, significant, serious or just curious.

Running & Philosophy:
A Marathon for the Mind
Edited by Michael W. Austin

Wine & Philosophy:
A Symposium on Thinking and Drinking
Edited by Fritz Allhoff

Food & Philosophy:
Eat, Think and Be Merry
Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Dave Monroe

Beer & Philosophy:
The Unexamined Beer Isnt Worth Drinking
Edited by Steven D. Hales

Whiskey & Philosophy:
A Small Batch of Spirited Ideas
Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Marcus P. Adams

College Sex Philosophy for Everyone:
Philosophers With Benefits
Edited by Michael Bruce
and Robert M. Stewart

Cycling Philosophy for Everyone:
A Philosophical Tour de Force
Edited by Jess Ilundin-Agurruza
and Michael W. Austin

Climbing Philosophy for Everyone:
Because Its There
Edited by Stephen E. Schmid

Hunting Philosophy for Everyone:
In Search of the Wild Life
Edited by Nathan Kowalsky

Christmas Philosophy for Everyone:
Better Than a Lump of Coal
Edited by Scott C. Lowe

Cannabis Philosophy for Everyone:
What Were We Just Talking About?
Edited by Dale Jacquette

Porn Philosophy for Everyone:
How to Think With Kink
Edited by Dave Monroe

Serial Killers Philosophy for Everyone:
Being and Killing
Edited by S. Waller

Dating Philosophy for Everyone:
Flirting With Big Ideas
Edited by Kristie Miller and Marlene Clark

Gardening Philosophy for Everyone:
Cultivating Wisdom
Edited by Dan OBrien

Motherhood Philosophy for Everyone:
The Birth of Wisdom
Edited by Sheila Lintott

Fatherhood Philosophy for Everyone:
The Dao of Daddy
Edited by Lon S. Nease
and Michael W. Austin

Forthcoming books in the series:

Fashion Philosophy for Everyone
Edited by Jessica Wolfendale
and Jeanette Kennett

Coffee Philosophy for Everyone
Edited by Scott Parker
and Michael W. Austin

Blues Philosophy for Everyone
Edited by Abrol Fairweather
and Jesse Steinberg

This edition first published 2010
2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd except for editorial material and organization
2010 Stephen E. Schmid

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Climbing philosophy for Everyone:
because its there / edited by Stephen E. Schmid.

p. cm. (Philosophy for everyone)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4443-3486-9 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Free will and determinism. 2. Liberty. 3. Risk-taking (Psychology) 4. MountaineeringMiscellanea.
I. Schmid, Stephen E. II. Title: Climbing philosophy for everyone.

B105.L45C47 2010

796.52201dc22

2010006826

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

To Beth

HANS FLORINE

FOREWORD

Climbers often claim, and it is often true, that it is about the journey, not the summit. Similarly, I suggest that the joy in philosophy is about pursuing the answers, not necessarily finding them.

As a professional climber and speaker, I have had the pleasure of interacting with a wide variety of strangers on the topic of climbing. I have fielded philosophical questions from the most ignorant city dwellers to the most experienced climbers: Why climb? Is solo climbing crazy or morally wrong? Is chipping a hold a bad thing to do? Are you scared of heights? How does one rate a climb or what does it mean to rate a climb? In answering these and many other questions, I am offering my considered opinion and, perhaps, am influencing the questioners thinking on possible answers. I am rarely providing a definitive answer. If I or anyone had the answers, then this book likely would not have been written. It is the posing of intriguing questions that makes philosophy interesting and exceptionally so when applied to the activity of climbing.

What a joy it is to sit back and let these champion philosophers influence our thinking on some of the most interesting philosophical questions in and about climbing. Some of the above mentioned questions and more are discussed with insight from experienced climbers and brilliant thinkers.