Philosophy of Sport Chapter 6

Sport Books Publisher2 Topics covered in this chapter: What is philosophy of sport? The nature of sport Ethics and sport Aesthetics and sport Sport and society

Sport Books Publisher3 What is Philosophy of Sport?

Sport Books Publisher4 Subdisciplines of philosophy Philosophy Metaphysics Epistemology Aesthetics Ethics Logic The study of beauty The study of how we ought to live The study of argument analysis The study of theory of knowledge The study of what is real

Sport Books Publisher5 Philosophy today Application of the same questions that arise from the “big five” to a broad array of topics –Conflict resolution –Feminism –Race relations –Sport Metadiscipline – examines and evaluates disciplines themselves The primary tool is logic Requirements for philosophical analysis: intellectual integrity, open-mindedness, critical attitude

Sport Books Publisher6 Philosophy of sport Asks questions such as: –What precisely is sport? –Is violence an inescapable part of competitive sport? Etc. For many, answers to these questions may seem unnecessary But what is sport? ChessUltimate fightingDog fighting

Sport Books Publisher7 The Nature of Sport

Sport Books Publisher8 Early competitive sport – Greek roots Celebratory funeral games in honor of fallen warriors (Homer, Iliad) –Example: chariot race Athlein  athlete –“to contend”, “to suffer” Agones  agony –“contests,” “places of combat” Preparation for war and the province of males only

Sport Books Publisher9 Aretism The ideal of competitive sports is striving for human excellence (M. Andrew Holowchak) Ancient Greek component –Arete = “excellence,” “virtue” –Part of culture to strive for excellence in sport Non-Greek component –Focus on the striving for and not the attainment of victory (how victory is won versus victory) –Play hard but play fair Ethical component –Core values of competitive sport are not internal to sport but rather are those of human beings in the world at large

Sport Books Publisher10 The “goods” of sport Children –Do not have fully developed rational faculty –Mostly motivated by external goods (e.g., approval, recognition) Adults –Have fully developed rational faculty –Some have the capacity to appreciate internal benefits –Others are motivated by external goods like recognition –Professional athletes can be motivated by external goods such as money and fame External goods: money, approval, fame Internal goods: love, cooperation, courage

Sport Books Publisher11 Sport and values The core values of modern sport: –Derived from society –Do not vary from society to society –Universally embraced by all capable of rationality Internalism Values of competitive sport are unique and not reducible to those of society Externalism Values of competitive sport are not unique and are merely a subset of society’s values <