Garden, walks, and philosophical school

Abstract

The chapter, which covers philosophical, communicative, and educational issues, examines four schools of ancient philosophy concerning the garden environment and walks in it. On the one hand, the garden indicates an exit both from the urban environment and from everyday activities, as well as from instrumental thinking. On the other, such a daily practice as a walk is associated with a “bypass”, i.e. metaphysical thinking. For example, when talking about pleasures, Epicurus paid attention not to satisfy the needs of the body, but to mental activities that are cultivated among friends. Stoa was a space for both festive narratives and everyday meetings. Zeno chose Poecile Stoa for his teaching and discussion of the possibility to meet both virtue and truth while walking with his students. Thus, the stoa was a safe and open place for all passers-by to develop their virtues. As for Aristotelian Lyceum, the walk has several layers. Here one learned by walking after the teacher in the covered galleries. In addition, the walk can be called an interdisciplinary study, which was matched by the multifunctional environment of the lyceum. Finally, the walk is related to Aristotle’s first substance and the scientific approach “from beneath”. This later evolved into empirical and field research. The platonic garden out of the city – the academy – also indicates several things. First, in choosing an academic path, we seek to be heroes of wisdom and virtue. Second, the academic environment represents liberation by breaking away from what is irrelevant and untrue. Third, the dead people buried on both sides of our path to the garden of the Academy are full-fledged interlocutors in our communication with ancient philosophers. The paper concludes with a consideration of Eco’s walks through the woods of imagination and fiction, which emerge as an alternative to philosophy, which also requires a “way out” and a “bypass”.