1. Ethical Systems & Elaine scarry, “how poetry changed the world”
Sports|ethics|lit – aug. 24, 2016

2. Elaine scarry, “poetry changed the world”
Scarry teaches in Harvard’s English department
Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and General Theory of Value
In a world where we’re often trained to think in terms of relativity and social construction, she is interested in absolutes
Scarry argues that there are three major ways that literature has diminished “acts of injuring”

3. 1. The Invitation to empathy
Empathy usually means the ability to feel compassion for a fictional being
However, Scarry emphasizes also that literature has another empathic capacity:
If enough people learn this habit (that there are other viewpoints than our own), then we collectively pass laws against injuring others

4. 2. deliberation
Certain forms of writing, such as Greek plays, model the “pros and cons” of dispute and debate
These types of writing flourish from the 12th to the 15th century
Immediately thereafter, she argues, three institutions arise:
Universities
Courts of law and law schools
Parliament
Real Benefit: Empathy and deliberation work together and “require one to think counterfactually, to think the thing that one does not hold to be the case.”

5. 3. Beauty
We find certain values in the aesthetic properties of literature – symmetry, vivacity, unity – and then seek to create those values in the world
Beauty “unselfs” us: we push our worries to the side and let something else take over
Beauty propels in us “the desire to create”: art, children, institutions, etc.
This is necessary in order to make change, seek justice, etc.

6. Some prominent ethical systems
Sports’ relationship to the ethical is not fixed: there is no single way that sports teaches ethics, and I am willing to listen to arguments that sports doesn’t successfully teach ethics at all
But in order to be more precise about the relationship between sports and ethics today, especially how particular situations or particular sports or particular environments might teach ethics, we should be aware of some prominent ethical systems and their core precepts and values

7. 1) Stoicism 4th century BCE – associated with Epictetus
Emphasis on “balance” and “equanimity”
Other key values include “contentment,” “moderation,” “serenity,” and “peace of mind”
A very prescriptive ethical system that regulated practices in order to achieve “self- mastery”
Vegetarianism
Temperance
Abstinence
All about resisting temptation

8. 2) Hedonism
4th century BCE – associated with Epicurus, a response to Stoicism
Pursuit of “pleasure” and “satisfaction” as opposed to moderation and contentment
“Eat, drink, and be merry, / For tomorrow we’ll die.” – Carpe Diem mentality
A life “rich” in short-term experiences, for we cannot know what comes next

9. 3) Deontology
C. 18th century – associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant
Everyone should act as if all other people would do the same exact thing, each and every time
One society, no special treatment, no exceptions or special cases
The same rules and precepts apply to everyone equally, regardless of status or skill

10. 4) Utilitarianism C. 19th century – associated with John Stuart Mill
One should choose acts that benefit the most amount of people, even if they cause harm to other, smaller amounts of people
A view often used by government officials and others to justify situations in which there are no “good” choices
Weigh the pros and cons and calculate the propinquity of the decision, like an accountant’s balance sheet

11. 5) existentialism
C. 20th century – associated with French thinkers John Paul Sartre and Albert Camus
“existence precedes essence” – there is no innate human nature or God-given purpose
Instead, we are born, then we struggle to make our own meaning, values, and purpose in life
We can do this individually, but we can also choose to make meaning communally, as well

12. 6) “Overman” ethics
Associated with Friedrich Nietzsche (Germany) and Ayn Rand (U.S.)
There are “elites” in society who are recognizable because of their “will to power” – if you have this ability, you take power regardless of obstacles or impediments that may stand in your way
Leaders and followers philosophy
Rand: “the virtue of selfishness” – if you have acquired power, you have the right to wield it to your own benefit – others may benefit indirectly

13. 7) Christian ethics
Doesn’t belong to a single “era” but associated with certain principles and precepts
Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have others do unto you
Give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish
Ten Commandments: what thou shalt and shalt not do
Virtue or martyrdom or sacrifice: sometimes you must allow harm to happen to yourself in order for others to succeed