Why do we travel, exactly? | The Press

Have you ever asked yourself the question: no, why do we travel? Expand your horizons or simply change places? Go and see elsewhere who we are, or if we are there? Thoughts to ponder, dreaming of exoticism, history and culture, or beaches and fine sand.

This is an existential and eternal question, which we wanted to raise again here, while many of us, at the start of this gray spring, are starting to dream of summer vacations. It must be said that the New Yorker made a splash last year by publishing the reflections of philosopher Agnes Callard of the University of Chicago. A sort of devil’s advocate, she has launched a veritable indictment of travel (The Case Against Travel), listing all the bad reasons (or fake good reasons) why we travel.

Read the article from New Yorker (in English)

Citing Aristotle here, Pessoa there, the author concludes that the fact of traveling, far from making us grow or evolve, as we like to imagine, ultimately transforms us into the worst version of ourselves.

As an example, Agnes Callard recounts how, during a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, she visited a falcon hospital. Why then, you ask? Excellent question: because the hospital in question is the thing to visit when trying to figure out what to see in Abu Dhabi, apparently. Now, by ticking boxes in this way, without the slightest interest in the thing a priori, what do we take away? Not much, we understand.

This is the essence of his thesis (allow us to paraphrase): “If, ordinarily, you avoid museums and suddenly, while traveling, you start running to the Louvre, what are you going to do? remove yourself from paintings? You might as well find yourself in a room, surrounded by hawks…”

That gives you an idea of ​​the tone: “The journey is a boomerang, bringing you back exactly to the starting point,” she says, in a conclusion that continues to provoke a reaction.

Invited to comment, Jean Grondin, full professor in the philosophy department of the University of Montreal, who had just returned from Barcelona during our interview, agreed, without mincing his words.

After queuing for hours to visit the Sagrada Familia (and spending a small fortune in the process), what was his amazement to see the visitors barely glance at the ceiling! “People are marching…” he said, sighing. Why, exactly? Because you have to? Apparently you have to see the Sagrada Familia, the falcons, the Mona Lisa. “Tourists often do things they don’t like to do…”

Worse: “they brag about it on social networks to receive likes ! »

And why do we try to check boxes when traveling, exactly? Industry pressure, he believes, social pressure as well, but also this idea of ​​the “bucket list”, says the philosopher. “Life is short, you have to have visited Paris, gone bungee jumping and drunk wine in the Napa Valley. People think that you have to accumulate thrills to be happy. It’s a concept of happiness that is not mine…”

That being said, the philosopher finds the author’s tone a tad “peremptory”: “Who will decide to no longer travel after reading this article? » It would probably be better to be more selective individually in our choices, he believes, and to ask ourselves: what really interests me?

“It is presumptuous to pass judgment on the trips that everyone takes,” adds Jean Grondin. Whether people travel for pleasure, to see loved ones, to escape their problems or to learn a language, it does them a lot of good. “I would say that all reasons are good. […] Why pass judgment on this? »

See the world through his eyes

Especially since everyone has their own motivations, which can vary depending on age, even the time of year, adds Marc-Antoine Vachon, holder of the Transat Tourism Chair. “Tourists are not a monolithic block! »

Generally speaking, the reasons most often cited are, in order: rest, exploration, visiting friends or family. But to say, according to this marketing professor, that tourists only tick boxes constitutes, according to him, a “gross generalization”. On the contrary, he says, we are increasingly moving away from the famous been there, done that. This is evidenced, according to him, by the growing popularity of slow tourism (slow tourism), the marked interest in gastronomy and the region.

Journalist and author Marie-Julie Gagnon has thought a lot about this subject. The one to whom we owe What remains of our travels? asked the question repeatedly: seeing the country, what difference does it make? Certainly, she says, “there are people for whom traveling is a way of self-esteem. And to consume. There’s something very flashy about flashing your travel photos.” But there is nothing new under the sun. Even the first great explorers did it! “It’s a way of saying: I’ve been there!” »

“Why are we traveling? There are a thousand reasons! », continues the one who started traveling to “prove that she could do it alone”. “Today, the question is more: why do I continue? » A much more complex question, given the issues associated with moving around, it should be remembered. For Marie-Julie Gagnon, the question also concerns the quest for meaning: learning, discovering, causing a clash of cultures, “understanding the other!” »

Even if some “check boxes”, adds the actor, director and author Philippe Robert, to whom we owe Jules and Josephine, a real invitation to travel, a delightful children’s play set to return on tour next year, travels are always “a story”, he says, “a story! » “Everyone has seen this or that city, but no one in my way! That belongs to me! »

The most interesting according to him: “the discovery”, “the side roads”, “not marked”. “This is where we meet people and experience challenges! »

The artist, visibly a poet in his spare time, sees life as a journey. Exit here the boomerang mentioned above. “We are parachuted, we have a certain time here, we will have a certain trajectory, so everything we experience transforms us! […] Maybe yes, we tick boxes, he concludes, but I dare to believe that we go much further: we just have to open our blinders and welcome the unexpected…”