When asked to identify the most basic elements of human existence, the immediate responses usually include breathing, eating, drinking or, perhaps, even reproduction. Movement, in spite of being as fundamental a part of human life as these other principles, is a less common response. But what drives human movement, and particularly our propensity to travel? On the surface such a question can appear facile, but on deeper reflection it unfolds as an issue of great complexity and, as such, has exercised human minds for millennia. The Greek philosopher Aristotle, when thinking two and a half thousand years ago about the motion of animals, classified movement into categories including non-voluntary, such as sleeping and breathing, and voluntary, such as when we choose to take a walk. To explain voluntary movements Aristotle turned to the principle of desire: the rabbit flees from the fox because it desires to survive; just as the human travels to the theatre because he/she desires to be entertained.' This faculty of desire, he suggested, was allied with our capacity for practical reason, which focuses upon an object and makes it desirable. Having determined the object or objective we desire, we then move to pursue it.

PART II:
Travel for Exploration and Knowing Ourselves - Religious and Spiritual Travel
Alison Kuznets

From the wanderings of Buddha, to the Old Testament tales of Moses's 40 years in the desert, travel is at the centre of the foundations and narratives of religions across the world. Indeed, to some believers their god is a travelling god, and they must travel in his footsteps, along the path he has shown - metaphorically and, in the case of some pilgrimages, physically also. Travel is also a religious practice of immense importance to many believers. Pilgrimage offers the promise of an encounter with god, a refreshing and cleansing of the soul. Missionary travel, commanded by the founders of some religions, enables missionaries to honour their god and save the souls of others. Enforced travel is also central to the stories of many religions and escape from religious persecution has driven many millions of people away from their homelands to the far corners of the world. Movement on such a large scale has shaped the histories of nations and empires, the results writ-large of the experiences of millions of individuals in all their variations from spiritual rapture to grief and pain.

With all these depths and complexities of motivations that religious travel illuminates, it is plain to see that travel is a great deal more than just getting from A to B. Far from being an activity that people wish to minimize, the journey is something that humans seek out as a process that will transform them spiritually. The destination is, of course, crucial too, and what those religious travellers seek is not something that can be replaced digitally: a direct encounter with a holy place or sacred object; the opportunity to spread the truth of their religion by living among other communities; or even a safe place to live and practise their own religion. Religious traditions have long recognized the power of travel to enlighten and transform; perhaps it is time that this perception of travel was adopted more broadly.