1. Philosophy of Sport
Chapter 21
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2. Topics covered in this chapter:
What is philosophy of sport?
The nature of sport
Ethics and sport
Aesthetics and sport
Sport and society
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3. What is Philosophy of Sport?
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4. Subdisciplines of 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
Philosophy
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5. 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
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6. 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?
Chess – clip art
Ultimate fighting --
Dog fighting --
Chess
Ultimate fighting
Dog fighting
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7. The Nature of Sport
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8. 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
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9. 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
Picture from chapter 19
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10. The “goods” of sport Children Adults
External goods: money, approval, fame
Internal goods: love, cooperation, courage
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
Clip art
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11. < Sport and values The core values of modern sport:
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
<
The core values of modern sport:
Derived from society
Do not vary from society to society
Universally embraced by all capable of rationality
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12. Sport Books Publisher