Surfing with Sartre

June 26, 2017
In this thoughtful meditation on surfing and philosophy, James (Assholes) explores epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. He believes that a surfer knows the world simply by being “adaptively attuned” to it, and that this knowledge allows the surfer to be carried along purposefully by “propulsive forces.” James likens the surfing lineup—where surfers wait their turn to catch waves—to democratic egalitarianism in that it allows a fair distribution of waves among capable surfers; thus, surfing culture creates its own political and ethical systems. Surfing teaches us that transcendence occurs, James observes, when we are attuned to the deep ways that we’re connected. Throughout, James encourages readers to embrace surfer wisdom in order to achieve personal acceptance in the world: “Accept. Persist. Focus. Leave time. Don’t compare. And mix things up.” Even for nonsurfers, James convincingly illustrates the ways in which catching a wave can change how people understand the world and try to make meaning from experiences.