Strategic fouls can be defined as deliberate rule violations undertaken for tactical advantage in circumstances where sanction is anticipated and treated as a cost of action. They are distinguished from cheating not by moral innocence but by their structural relation to enforcement. Whereas cheating depends upon clandestine evasion, the strategic foul remains intelligible, and can still ‘work’, even when detected and punished, precisely because it presupposes the continuing authority of the rule-system it exploits. This article examines the phenomenon of strategic (...) fouling by offering a critical analysis of its moral, regulatory, and psychoanalytic dimensions. In particular, it explores how such actions are embedded within the logic of competitive play, revealing a tacit legitimacy, despite their formal illegality. Drawing on the work of J.S. Russell, the article situates strategic fouling within a broader category of tolerated transgression, which, enhances, rather than undermines, the experience of play. Coupled with a psychoanalytic perspective, it is argued that strategic fouls exemplify the creative potential of self-limitation. That is, rules and constraints do not inhibit freedom but serve as conditions for inventive action and ethical deliberation. With regard to relevant examples, such as Luis Suárez’s 2010 handball, the article concludes that strategic fouling reveals sport as a site of moral ambiguity and creative agency, where the subject confronts and constitutes itself through the contradictions of rule-bound play. (shrink)

Volume 18, Issue 2, May 2024, Page 123-125.

Volume 24, Issue 11, November 2024, Page 24-26.

In this paper, I propose a new way of defining sport that I call a ‘core-periphery’ model. According to a core-periphery model, sport comes in degrees – what I refer to as ‘sport-likeness’ – and the aim of the philosopher of sport is to chart those dimensions along which an activity can be more or less a sport. By introducing the concept of sport-likeness, the core-periphery model complicates the picture of what is or is (...) not a sport and encourages philosophers interested in defining sport to engage with the social sciences in exploring the extension of the term sport in common usage. In this paper I present the results of a small survey about attitudes to sport, and use it to illustrate how a core-periphery definition of sport would proceed. (shrink)

Is it possible to remain a sports fan when prominent sports teams and events are utilized to “sportswash” human rights abuses and other controversies? Indeed, while there is an abundance of analyses critiquing different instances of sportswashing, the exploration of the role of sportswashing and its connection to the “sports fan” presents an essential and necessary area of investigation and theoretical inquiry. To unpick this dilemma, this article proposes the concept of “fetishistic disavowal” to help theorize the impact of sportswashing, (...) as well as its relation to the sports fan and critical sports academic. This argues that, as spectators and fans of sport—and, moreover, as critical academics—we often acknowledge and accept that sport is used to perpetuate and even maintain a variety of social, economic, and political inequalities. Yet, while we are aware of such knowledge, we nonetheless remain fully capable of disavowing this very knowledge as an accepted part of sport. Given this, it is argued that the fetishization of sport can provide a suitable conduit for the fetishistic disavowal that sportswashing requires, with the concept offering a unique way of approaching sport’s inherent contradictions, while also theorizing how subjects relate to these contradictions as part of their involvement in and with sport. Where sportswashing directly implicates the fan in its implementation—relying upon a level of fetishistic disavowal between the fan and their club and proffering a disavowed acknowledgement of the effects of sportswashing and its interpellation through sport—this article outlines how applications of fetishistic disavowal provide a unique theoretical lens through which analyses of sport, and its ethical significance, can be critiqued. (shrink)

This paper side-steps the question of whether ‘the’ concept of sport exists, or can be usefully analysed. Instead, I try to explain the much more modest aim of exhibition-analysis, which is to seek a description of an actually existing example of some concept of sport internal to a normative position. My example is that of Olympic-sport. I try to set out its logically necessary conditions, which of course are conditioned by its context within a theory that emphasises (...) the values of formal competition, citius-altius-fortius, and excellence in contest, as well as rule-based procedural values related to fairness, justice and equality. In so doing, I readily accept that other kinds of sport can be similarly analysed, and I do not press the value claims of Olympic-sport. Instead, I try to show how Olympic-sport, properly construed, can accommodate the concerns of my critics with regard to sport’s play and game-like characteristics. (shrink)

This paper builds on R. Scott Kretchmar’s contention that game play – not simply complex language – served as a primary generator of culture over the course of human evolution. Kretchmar’s ‘games-first hypothesis’ challenges the dominant privileging of language as the sole prerequisite for conventions forming our social institutions. On this view, ‘game acts’ – not ‘speech acts’ – stand at the root of what social otologists such as John Searle call ‘social reality’. Oldham makes the case that we hold (...) game acts – more specifically physical game acts (i.e. sport) – as mechanisms par excellence for the development and display of trust and trustworthiness, fundamental elements of social institutions including language. Anchored thus in ontologically objective evolutionary processes, ‘game acts theory’ not only presents a novel solution to social ontology’s persistent problem of irreducibility to brute facts, but opens up a significant new perspective in the debate concerning value and meaning in sport and games. It is here, in fact, with a question about value – Does the Olympic Oath carry a moral obligation? – where the paper begins. The search for an answer launches an exploration of the origins of social conventions on an evolutionary time scale, decentring language and laying the groundwork for a new ontological understanding of sport. (shrink)

The sport governing institutions with the most power and influence, such as the International Olympic Committee and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, have recognised the significance of democracy as a principle of good governance. However, their interpretation of democracy is limited, pertaining to the organisations’ elections and formal procedures. As a result, the traditional applications of democracy in sport have not been effective in addressing power dynamics amongst stakeholders. This article argues that this is the result (...) of an overreliance on the institutional dimension of democracy as opposed to its cultural dimension. Democratisation, the process of challenging entrenched power dynamics, is reliant on engagement with both the institutional and cultural dimensions of democracy. The implementation of democracy in the governance of sport facilitates engagement with the institutional dimension of democracy. However, it is engagement with the cultural dimension of democracy that leads to an enhanced understanding of the value of sport and of stakeholders’ relationship to sport. Greater engagement with the cultural dimension of democracy in sport should not only improve the quality of interactions in more formal democratic settings, but also better incorporate external stakeholders, protect the autonomy of sport, and promote solidarity amongst participants. (shrink)

ABSTRACT There has been extensive debate among various disciplines about the nature and value of play. From these discussions it seems clear that play is a phenomenon with more than just one dimension: as a specific type of activity, as a form or structure, as an ontologically distinctive phenomenon, as a type of experience, or as a stance or an attitude towards a particular activity. This article focuses on the importance of the playful attitude in sport. It begins by (...) attempting to describe the underpinning features of a playful attitude, and its relation to Suits’ lusory attitude and the concept of gamification. Finally, it considers and critically evaluates the relationship between play and sport and the importance of the playful attitude in sporting activities. The purpose of this paper is a far deeper analysis of the playful attitude and its relationship to sport than has been previously provided, and a more precise definition as to what the playful attitude is. This will ultimately help to answer questions about the value of sport and how sport ought to be played. (shrink)

The use of certain performance-enhancing drugs (PED) is banned in sport. I discuss critically standard justifications of the ban based on arguments from two widely used criteria: fairness and harms to health. I argue that these arguments on their own are inadequate, and only make sense within a normative understanding of athletic performance and the value of sport. In the discourse over PED, the distinction between “natural” and “artificial” performance has exerted significant impact. I examine whether the distinction (...) makes sense from a moral point of view. I propose an understanding of “natural” athletic performance by combining biological knowledge of training with an interpretation of the normative structure of sport. I conclude that this understanding can serve as moral justification of the PED ban and enable critical and analytically based line drawing between acceptable and nonacceptable performance-enhancing means in sport. (shrink)

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) is considered a syndrome of impaired health and performance due to low energy availability (LEA) relative to energy needs in physical activity. Although REDs has been studied from physiological and psychological perspectives, currently, there is little research from a sociological or socio-cultural perspective. The current study sought to address that gap, by investigating the embodied experiences of REDs, specifically in relation to sporting identity and identity work, from the perspective of 20 UK-based endurance (...) athletes who self-identified as having experienced REDs. Twelve participants took part in semi-structured interviews designed to explore their experiences of REDs, and eight completed personal wellbeing diaries. Our findings cohere around three key elements in identity work, drawing on micro-sociological interactionist perspectives that highlight the importance of: materialistic, associative, and vocabularic forms of identification. The findings offer novel insights into what can be a highly distressing experience, corporeally and psychologically, by focusing on how identity-related issues can contribute to REDs. (shrink)

The jurisprudence of sport is a recent area of study in the philosophy of sport and in law. It views sports as systems of rules, akin to state legal systems. There are umpires/referees who adjudicate and issue penalties on the field of play. And the rules of cricket, rugby, and association football are called ‘laws’ with good reason. The structure and nature of sports are usually much easier to grasp than a fully-fledged legal system. As a result, lawyers (...) can learn much from them. But the law can equally illuminate contentious questions in sports when philosophers of sport apply well-established legal categories (primary and secondary rules, compensation versus restitution, excuse versus justification, etc.) to games. Since the end of the 20th century, there has been a growing literature and interest in the subject. This entry follows that trajectory. (shrink)

Organized youth sport has become a prominent activity in Western societies, one around which myriad families structure their daily lives. Despite its popularity, or rather because of it, youth sport is besotted with complex problems. One distinctive set of problems pertains to children’s opportunities to benefit from engagement in sport. Such problems require a reflection on the conditions of justice. The goal of this paper is to explore ethical guidelines to make youth sport more just. The (...) paper begins by characterizing childhood, youth, and youth sport. Then, it articulates considerations of justice in youth sport. Together, these sections provide a basis to formulate the general features of a just youth sport. What emerges is a vision of youth sport that the adults involved in it should emphasize and implement if their young charges, and youth sport, are to flourish, as well as a novel approach to formulating and justifying normative criteria to make youth sport more just. (shrink)

This article challenges the alleged zero-sum payoff structure of competition (zero-sum competition) as a description of the kind of competition we find in contemporary institutionalized sport. Drawing on von Neumann and Morgenstern’s Theory of Games and Economic Behavior and other game theory literature, it introduces their concept of zero-sum games: games with a binary structure of payoffs in which one’s win implies the other’s loss, resulting in an overall sum of zero. It then discusses its application within the philosophy (...) of sport, as introduced by Suits and further developed by Kretchmar and others, and reviews its adequacy. This article argues that, whilst zero-sum competition is characteristic of friendly one-off head-to-head matches, it fails to adequately characterize (in fact misrepresents) the kind of competition we find in contemporary institutionalized sport (e.g. leagues and tournaments). In contrast, contemporary institutionalized sport contests are better characterized by a payoff-sum structure that typically is variable-sum, and, in some cases, constant-sum (constant > 0). In addition, at the overall competition level, results are accumulated into an ordinal standings table – an architecture that exhibits contemporary institutionalized sport as an inclusive and humane practice, rather than a cutthroat, dog-eat-dog exercise. (shrink)

The connection between sport and morality is a key focus of J. S. Russell’s scholarly work. He rejects the ‘separation thesis’, which claims that sport has a significant degree of autonomy and thus its own set of values separate from those of society. Instead, he supports the ‘continuity thesis,’ which suggests that the moral values at the heart of sport reflect more basic moral values found outside its boundaries. Therefore, for Russell, individuals involved in sport do (...) not leave ordinary morality to enter a separate sporting one. Rather, they engage in a social practice whose core moral principles are extensions of broader morality. In this paper, we challenge Russell’s defense of the continuity thesis by analyzing his writings on the role of play in sport and the value of dangerous sport. The opening section reviews the separation and continuity theses. Next, we critique Russell’s defense of the continuity thesis, presenting him with two options outlined in the following section. One option is to more effectively explain how his defense of the continuity thesis aligns with the moral exceptionalism he supports for play and dangerous sports, as well as the actions and valuations they foster and legitimize. The second option is to consider whether, in some cases, certain values are discontinuous with and therefore do not simply express, reflect, or reinforce general moral ideals and commitments outside sport. In that section, we also propose an alternative to the dyadic conceit—the ‘separanuity thesis’—to clarify the link between sport and morality, and we encourage Russell to reflect on it in light of our examination of his work. We close by outlining how his discussion of risk and play affirms our proposal. (shrink)

One of the most pressing points in the philosophy of sport is the question of a definition of sport. Approaches towards sport vary based on a paradigm and position of a particular author. This article attempts to analyse and critically evaluates a recent definition of sport presented by Jim Parry in the context of argument that e-sports are not sports. Despite some innovations, his conclusions are in many ways traditional and build on the previous positions. His (...) research, rooted in the conceptual analysis, starts with a stipulation that sport is paradigmatically Olympic sport. He defines it then as an ‘institutionalised, rule-governed contest of human physical skill’ i.e., identifies six necessary elements of sport: human (not animals), physical (not chess), skill (not jogging), contest (not mountaineering), rule-governed (not ‘field sports’), institutionalized (not hula-hooping). Our claim is that this definition, despite its methodological clarity, is not accurate and does not sufficiently represent sport outside the Olympic context. First, to say for something to be a sport it is necessary to be a contest leads to a narrow concept of sport. Secondly, Parry’s account lacks the emphasis on game and play-like structures that are inherently present in sport (even in the Olympic sport), namely non-necessity, non-ordinariness, arbitrariness and gratuitousness. We try to direct the attention precisely on these structures and offer an alternative account of sport understood as a modern ‘hard core’ sport that nevertheless reaches important congruences with Parry’s definition. The originality of this contribution lies in presenting the essential qualities of modern ‘hard core’ sports, which, although sometimes hidden in the modern emphasis on high level performances, competition, and results, play an important role in the question how sport ought to be played and approached. (shrink)

Questions and analyses centered on race have become more prominent in philosophy. By employing a ‘critical philosophy of race’, thinkers become enabled to address how race and racism continue to operate in subtle and unintended ways, including within concepts, theories, principles, practices, and methodologies otherwise purported to be race-neutral. Yet, North American sports philosophy provides few examples of work that grapples with race, racism, or theories of race. In this essay, I ask why and conclude that the shortage of discussions (...) that include explicit references to race or ethnicity in North American sport philosophy is due to the dominance and normalization of white epistemologies – white ways of experiencing, seeing, and knowing the world. (shrink)

It is suggested that there are three broadly held views about sport in relation to the moral life‐‐the positive view, the neutral view and the negative view. Following a brief examination of morality and moral education the first of these views is upheld by arguing that sport as fairness is inherently concerned with the moral. It is further argued that sport is a valued human practice concerned with the virtues and that as a part of the curriculum (...) is an integral part of moral education. An initiation into sport, like other aspects of moral education, involves such processes as judging, caring and acting. In all these processes the role of the teacher is considered. Finally two manifestations of a successful initiation into sport are presented with particular reference to the development of character and to the phenomenon of sportspersonship. (shrink)

The article looks at sport as a form of human action where the participants display various forms of Intentionality. Intentionality may be defined as ‘that property of many mental states and events by which they are directed at or about or of objects and states of affairs in the world.’ Sporting actions are about human intentions, beliefs, desires, perceptions and not to forget, movements. This means that sports typically display what we call ‘Intentionality.’ The study of Intentionality and intentional (...) actions has previously received relatively little attention among sport philosophers, but deserves more attention. Even though there is a tension and several differences between continental and analytical approaches to philosophical problems, there is a common understanding of the phenomenon we call ‘Intentionality.’ The debate between John Searle, representing the analytical camp, and Hubert Dreyfus, representing the phenomenological camp, is instructive to see the differences, and also the commonalities between the two approaches. The article starts with a clarification of the concept of Intentionality and sketches some of the history and background of the concept. It then presents the main conceptual framework that Searle uses to distinguish the different types and forms of Intentionality and his views on sporting actions. This is followed by a presentation of the phenomenological approach of Dreyfus and the response by Searle. The article ends by discussing the possibility of a combined and enriched view where a clarification of the logic as well as the phenomenology of sporting actions is needed. It may thus be possible to bridge the gap between the two approaches. (shrink)

Doping in sport counts as a typical example of unfair behaviour and a good illustration of ethical problems produced by enhancement activities. However, there are some authors who argue that enhancement in sport is not intrinsically problematic but only so in those circumstances that make it dangerous for athletes or unfair to competitors, or which give rise to suspicion in the viewing public. In contrast to this, the author of the present article shows that enhancement activities are contradictory (...) to basic requirements and preconditions of sports competitions. These preconditions are, firstly, a basic equality of opportunities for all competitors and, secondly, a clear causal connection between a specific performance and an individual athlete, in the sense of authorship of that performance. It cannot be excluded that there could exist future sports competitions without these qualities, but this would clearly be a fundamentally different kind of sport from nowadays. Therefore, the normative background of the current concept of sports competitions, as such, limits the use of enhancement practices to a rather low level. (shrink)

In recent years, reports on youth sports excesses and abuses of minors underscore the need for a safer sport environment. However, the way in which parents guide their children in dealing with winning and losing in sports is less understood. A care ethical inquiry into sport parenting might contribute to a better understanding of the role parents play in creating a safe sport environment for their children. This study applies theoretical perspectives from care ethics into practical context (...) focusing on the relationship between parents and their sporting children through the lens of relational identity. An interpretative phenomenological study was conducted into the meaning of competitiveness amongst Dutch parents of children aged eleven and twelve, who play hockey and are in the midst of transitioning from sport as a game to competitive sport. This article concludes that the meaning of competitiveness for these parents is twofold. On the one hand there is a desire to be proud of your child’s success, fuelled by meritocratic ideals. On the other hand, parents desire their child’s ongoing commitment to sport, which they consider a return investment for the sacrifices they make to support their child’s sport participation. From a care ethical stance of relational responsibility, parents should not solely view sport as a quid pro quo concept in which desires are fulfilled or battles settled, but rather as a game that is enjoyed by both parents and children. Mature sport parenting can only emerge once the tensions resulting from parental sacrifices on the one hand and the child’s loyalty to meet parental expectations on the other are overcome through dialogue and reflection, aimed at elucidating responsibilities within the relationship. More research is needed to gain insight into the significance of this relational connection for the youth sports climate. (shrink)

The relation between sport and a good life presents a fruitful philosophical challenge and it has been discussed extensively within the philosophy sport literature. This paper will investigate the role of sport in a good life in the philosophical conceptions of Aristotle and Suits. Both authors paid attention to sport and its significance in the context of living well. However, their approaches differ, partly because they emerge in a different historical and cultural context. My aim is (...) to analyse relevant texts of these two authors, presenting their major points, commonalities, and differences. The debate, to a certain extent, highlights instrumental (educational) and autotelic (intrinsic) value of sport. In order to conceptualize properly the role of sport in a good life, we need to take into account both of these aspects. The originality of this contribution can be found in presenting relevant implications of the contrasting positions of Suits and Aristotle to our thinking about modern sport. Finally, I point to the complementarity of their positions and demonstrate their impact on the broader debate concerning good sport and its role in a good life. (shrink)

Martial-arts practice is not quite anything else: it is like sport, but is not sport; it constantly refers to and as it were cohabits with violence, but is not violent; it is dance-like but not dance. It shares a common athleticism with sports and dance, yet stands apart from both, especially through its paradoxical commitment to the external value of being an instrument of violence. My discussion seeks to illuminate martial arts practice by systematic contrast to games of (...) sport and works of performance art, especially dance. (shrink)

This essay develops a Kantian theory of sport which addresses: (1) Kant’s categories of aesthetic judgment (2) a comparable analysis applied to athletic volition; (3) aesthetic cognition and experience and athletic volition and experience; (4) ‘free’ and ‘attached’ beauty; (5) Kant’s theory of teleological judgment; (6) the moral concept of a ‘kingdom of ends’ and sportsmanship; (7) the beautiful and the sublime in sport-experience; (8) respect and religious emotion in sport-experience; (9) the Kantian system and philosophical anthropology; (...) and (10) sport and self-knowledge. (shrink)

This article looks at the ways in which different forms of knowledge are constructed, which shed light on and give meaning to PSA (Physical and Sports Activities) developed in Western societies marked by the predominance of the competitive model of modern sport. By studying the academic space of training and research in PSA in France, the text analyzes the interrelation of social and epistemic processes, and more specifically, the interdependence between organizational, axiological, and epistemic dimensions that impact the visions (...) of PSA and the construction of knowledge about PSA. The research is based on various surveys (ethnographic observations and interviews) conducted individually or collectively over more than twenty-five years. The work argues that the challenge of developing holistic approaches to PSA involves and is driven by a new relationship between academic expertise (different scientific disciplines) and extra-academic expertise (decision-makers, practitioners, beneficiaries). While relations of power and domination have marked the history of relations between these knowledges-powers, they are now more likely to collaborate. The paper recounts this process, considering four major historical sequences that successively highlight: the historical dominance of the academic biological expertise of university doctors in the first half of the 20th century; multi-inter-transdisciplinarity as a process of pluralization of scientific expertise in the 1960s and 1970s; and, finally, the end of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st century, marked by tensions but also by the challenge of coordinating multiple forms of expertise, whether scientific or non-scientific (extra-academic expertise). (shrink)

This chapter examines the longstanding philosophical issue of how to define sport. It begins by presenting the challenge that there may be no single set of necessary and jointly sufficient conditions, which adequately captures the meaning and range of activities commonly grouped under the term, including McBride’s argument that both the intension and extension of ‘sport’ are inherently vague, rendering attempts to produce a classical definition futile. For contrast, the chapter presents Suits’ influential account, according to which sports (...) are goal-directed, rule-bound, voluntarily hindered, physical skill-based activities with stable popularity. To scrutinize Suits’ classical account, the chapter provides an overview of a wide array of “hard cases”, and shows how these cases generate persistent ambiguities for Suits’ conditions, particularly with respect to rule-boundedness, the nature and degree of physical skill, and the relevance of popularity or historical stability. The chapter argues, that some ambiguities and disagreements arise because participants rely on different notions of what it is to define, and distinguishes four types of definitions: idealist, lexical, stipulative, and explicative. It further argues that differences in the approach to defining are often motivated by the practical purposes a definition of sports serves. The chapter concludes that definitions remain useful tools for structuring inquiry and clarifying arguments, but cannot by themselves resolve normative questions concerning how various activities should be labelled or treated. Instead, clarity about the purpose of a definition, and humility regarding its limits, are essential for productive conceptual analysis of sport. (shrink)

The occurrence of sport-related concussions (SRCs) has emerged as a significant health concern in professional sports, with millions of concussions occurring worldwide each year. Current return-to-play (RTP) protocols after SRCs involve a multi-disciplinary approach with growing interest in genetic testing technology. Numerous studies have indicated that the gene Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) holds promise as a predictive factor for developing diseases after concussions and other traumatic brain injuries. Nevertheless, there is an ongoing and contentious debate surrounding the impact of SRC (...) genetic testing on the RTP decision, encompassing concerns about the potential adverse effects on individual athletes, coaches, and even the whole sport community at large not in a small degree due to incidental findings. Hence, the purpose of this article is to explore the clinical and ethical components of SRCs genetic testing and its potential integration into RTP protocols by utilizing the ACCE framework to assess the validity, utility, and ethical aspects of SRCs. (shrink)

Vulnerability is a multifaceted concept used across disciplines, yet in the context of sport integrity, it remains underexplored and lacks a clear conceptualisation despite its growing usage and wider application. This paper critically examines how the concept of vulnerability is currently incorporated in different sport integrity contexts and research literature. It proposes a novel understanding of vulnerability informed by the fields of research ethics and bioethics, specifically in relation to established analyses and operationalisations of vulnerability. Drawing on the (...) layered account of vulnerability, we conceptualise vulnerability as relational and dynamic, moving beyond fixed and stereotypical categorisations of vulnerability. Our understanding of vulnerability expands the understanding of this concept from its more common association with doping behaviours and populations and illustrates how the layered approach can be helpful in identifying and analysing vulnerability across different sport integrity contexts. In doing so, this paper demonstrates how a bioethics-informed approach can enhance the conceptual clarity and support a more consistent application of vulnerability within sport integrity field. (shrink)

The three social practices – democracy, philosophy and sport – are more similar than we might initially suspect. They can be described as ‘essentially agonistic social practices’, that is, they are manifestations of ‘agon’ (contest). The possibility to participate in agonistic social practices derives from the human condition, i.e. from the necessity to care for one’s existence, which requires ongoing attention and decision-making, and which sometimes means going against others. We call this character of human existence by the ancient (...) Greek term ‘polemos’ (struggle), which can be manifested through various types of agon. If society cherishes agonistic social practices, it enables its citizens to compete to prove themselves and achieve goals (e.g. to push through a persuasive argument, or to win in sport) in a respectful, peaceful and productive way. Believed to have played a significant role in ancient Greece, agon presents itself in both intellectual and physical forms – in philosophy, democratic politics and sport – suggesting that the relationship between these practices is deep-rooted and significant. This paper explores the idea that developing our understanding of polemos and agon can enhance our experience of agonistic social practices and enable our existence to proceed in a more free, pro-social and enriching way. (shrink)

With recent controversies surrounding the eligibility of athletes with disorders of sex development and hyperandrogenism, as well as continued discussion of the conditions transgender athletes must meet to compete in high-performance sport, a wide array of scholars representing a diverse range of disciplines have weighed in on both the appropriateness of classifying athletes into the female and male categories and the best practices of doing so. In response to cases of high-profile athletes’ sex being called into question, the International (...) Olympic Committee, the International Association of Athletics Federations, and the National Collegiate Athletics Association, among others, published or updated policies addressing who is eligible to compete in the women’s sport category and under what conditions. This paper addresses the areas in which philosophical reasoning and ethical analysis can contribute to reopened debates about the surveillance of the women’s category in sport. Emphasis is placed on determining where the onus of responsibility should fall for ensuring the new policies are followed. (shrink)

Brown held that consent is no defence to the infliction of serious bodily harm, yet it recognised an exception for properly conducted sport, noting that criminalising sport-related harm would not be ‘in the public interest’. The justification for this public interest exception for sport, however, has received limited ethical scrutiny. Medical evidence increasingly links sport-induced repetitive head injuries with long-term neurological disorders. The past decade has seen a rise in concussion-related litigation, increased concern over player safety (...) in contact sports and growing efforts to manage and regulate sports to protect athletes from foreseeable harms. Given the shifting medical and regulatory landscape, this article argues that sport’s legal and ethical justification for tolerating foreseeable bodily harm requires renewed consideration. Drawing from human rights jurisprudence, I develop a proportionality assessment, used here as an ethical framework, to examine whether sport-related harm can be justified. This framework requires that the legitimate aims invoked to justify sport as being consistent with the public interest are specified, that the practices and risks tolerated within sport be genuinely connected to achieving those aims, that less harmful alternatives be considered, and that the decision not to prohibit sport-related harm be proportionate to the benefits pursued and burdens imposed on participants. I argue that until this justificatory work is undertaken, sport’s exceptional status rests on an unexamined presumption and thus may not be ethically defensible. (shrink)

ZusammenfassungDer Artikel untersucht die Frage, ob es sinnvoll ist, Doping im Sport unter ärztlicher Kontrolle freizugeben. Dazu werden die Auswirkungen einer Freigabe untersucht, die stets nur eine begrenzte Freigabe wäre, allein wegen der Risiken. Die unangenehmen Begleiterscheinungen der Dopingkontrollen würden nicht entfallen. Die Auswirkungen einer Freigabe von Doping im Wettkampfsport wären entweder unsinnig oder aber mit Nachteilen behaftet. Es ist nicht notwendig, die Frage zu klären, was die „Idee des Sportes“ ausmacht und ob sie verändert werden darf. Allein unter (...) praktischen Aspekten zeigt sich, dass dem Sport mit einer Freigabe des Dopings keine Vorteile, aber viele Nachteile erwachsen. (shrink)

This paper explores J.S. Russell’s founding contributions to the jurisprudence of sport. It traces the change from his early papers that present an idealized account of sport as highly moral and perfectionist to his later, more nuanced view, that while sport does contain moral values, it also embodies the values of play, which are often amoral and not necessarily perfectionist. Russell’s mature view thus seems to be that sport is an uneasy combination of morality, perfectionism, and (...) play. I say ‘uneasy’ because the values of play can often conflict with the values of morality and perfectionism. Thus, according to Russell, even in its ideal form sport embodies conflicting values. Russell’s body of work is a subtle and profound contribution to the ethics and jurisprudence of sport that repays close study. I end with a suggestion contrary to Russell’s internalism, that instead sport may be viewed as having no internal moral values; it merely reflect the values imposed on it by society. I show how this conventionalist account could still generate the same satisfactory answers as Russell’s account to solve his four difficult examples from baseball that cannot be solved by an umpire simply applying the rules alone. (shrink)

I argue that one of the chief social and political problems that plague Western liberal democracies is the encroachment of market norms and their trademark good money into every facet of the lives of its citizens. Sport is no exception in this regard, in which economic considerations of profitability too often get the first and last word on how it is treated and conducted. As a consequence, the norms, standards of excellence, and goods internal to sport are subordinated (...) to the private preferences of market actors, who shape them to further their own economic ends with scant regard for the distinctive role they play in the practice of sport itself. I argue the way to remedy such market overreach is to rely on the true-and-tried liberal device of what Walzer calls the ‘liberal art of separation’. I put Walzer’s art of separation to use by drawing a line between the market and sport beyond which the market is not allowed to tread. The purpose of drawing such a line is to ensure that the special non-instrumental logic and social goods of sport are not co-opted by market norms, which not only have no intrinsic connection to sport but jeopardize its perfectionist character. (shrink)

To uncover the main dimensions of sport personality traits, a lexical study was conducted. In the first two phases, 321 adjectives denoting the way somebody practices sports were selected. In the third phase, 555 respondents self-rated the adjectives. Congruence analyses provided evidence of six factors, five of which are sport personality trait factors plus one physical individual difference factor. Marker scales from the sport personality trait factors show convergent correlations with the generic HEXACO personality obtained years earlier. (...) Furthermore, meaningful relations with the six most frequently practiced sport and leisure activities were observed. Contextualized sport personality trait factors can be useful in research on sport preferences, sport behaviors, and sport outcomes. (shrink)

As part of my doctorate research I studied a Sport group and their altered state of consciousness (ASC) experiences, which are presented here. I begin with some literature from sport psychology. I consider the work of Csikszentmihalyi and his ‘Flow’ model of ASCs used in some sport literature. I also note literature which identifies spiritual experience within sport. I introduce the Sport group and explain the deep spirituality of many members. I consider the dynamic of (...) the group centred on Dan their instructor and how he created a family ethos, helping each individual to achieve their best. I report on collective ASC experience in class which created a kind of lifeworld separate from the external world. I examine accounts of individual ASCs, including content-less states, and a ‘triple sport “ASC” pattern’. I report therapeutic effects, particularly ASCs used to alleviate negative states. Other ASC inducers used included personal prayer, daydream, television and music. (shrink)

Arriving at definitions in philosophy is as time-honored as it is controversial. Although learned reflection in the west about sport goes back at least to the time of ancient Greece, the sub-discipline of the philosophy of sport emerged in the world of Anglophone analytic philosophy in the 1970s. Shawn Klein’s edited volume, Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines, is both the fruit of and a valuable contribution to such an emerging field (indeed, it is the first book-length study (...) of its topic within philosophy of sport). Although Huizinga had sought to define the phenomenon of play very broadly in his Homo Ludens (1938), investigation of the overlapping questions of what is sport? what is a game?, and what is play? were central to the sub-discipline at its inception. Foundational was the work of Bernard Suits, whose Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia (1978) sought to refute Wittgenstein’s claim that the notion of game was indefinable. In order to refute Wittgenstein, Suits sought to establish the conditions or properties both necessary and sufficient of the concepts of game and sport such that all instances of those concepts share such properties. (shrink)

Recreational fishing for Mahseer, trout, and snow-trout is a popular activity among affluent families and tourists in India, particularly in the Himalayan regions. The physiography and productivity of these cold-water ecosystems indicate significant potential for developing sport fisheries. The Himalayan uplands, with their diverse streams, rivers, and lakes, are home to both exotic trout species and native Mahseer, making them attractive destinations for anglers. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the Northeast region of India offer abundant fishing (...) opportunities with various streams, rivers, and lakes supporting sizeable catches. The development of sport fisheries in these areas could bolster local economies, create employment, and enhance adventure tourism. Effective strategies, including conservation plans, infrastructure development, artificial propagation, and strict fisheries regulations, are essential to harness this potential sustainably. (shrink)

Prompted by Bernard Suits’ classic study The Grasshopper, I turn in this chapter to the fundamental question of what gives meaning to a life—what makes it worth living. Suits believes that the only activity that gives life meaning is game playing. Rejecting Suits’ view, and reflecting on the life of the legendary figure of Sisyphus, I suggest that we derive a sense of meaning in life from three main factors—three convictions—namely, that our lives serve some useful purpose, making at least (...) some contribution to the well-being of the world; that our lives have direction, moving towards at least one goal that seems worthwhile to us; finally, that we are connected with the world in at least some significant ways, in particular, with other people whose lives intersect with ours. I compare sport and art with regard to the respective contributions they make towards these meaning-giving features of life, and conclude that on all three factors, art fares better than sport. But I argue that it is the purist—the one who views sport simply for its moments of beauty and drama—whose sense of meaning in life benefits most from their interest in sport. (shrink)

An institution like the game Monopoly contributes to the world in that it is fun to play—call this its “external” value. Kendall Walton points out that we can also judge actions from the viewpoint of an institution’s “internal” values—thus it is “good”, in Monopoly, to acquire the prize property of Mayfair and “bad” to land on the “Go to jail” square—values that have no application outside the game. Regarding sport, I argue that actions we call good in sport (...) are not straightforwardly good but only “good” according to sport’s internal values, because “good” here simply means “conducive to winning”, and it makes no difference to the wider world which of two sides wins a game. I argue that what is good according to art’s internal values, in contrast, is also good in the wider world. I further argue that courage as displayed in sport falls short of courage in the full sense of the word. I discuss the phenomenon of inverted values in sport, and address the question of how dangerous actions ordinarily deemed morally wrong can be acceptable in sport. Finally, I consider how and where morality retains its authority in sport. (shrink)

From the tropical coasts to the Himalayan rivers, India’s varied landscapes provide a plethora of options for those who enjoy sport fishing. Anglers from all over the world are drawn to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands because of their pristine reef ecosystems and abundance of pelagic game fish, including marlin, tuna, and sailfish. Rivers such as the Beas, Indus, and Lidder in the Himalayan region are renowned for their populations of valued Mahseer and Trout, offering exciting angling experiences. Locations (...) such as Kovalam and the Coromandel Coast on the southern shores provide access to species such as Barracuda, King Mackerel, and Yellowfin Tuna. The Ramganga River in Corbett National Park and other inland lakes are home to a variety of game fish, including Mahseer and Goonch. With extensive rules, knowledgeable guides, and a burgeoning recreational fishing sector, India is becoming a top sport fishing destination where anglers may pursue a variety of iconic species in breathtaking natural settings. (shrink)

I offer an analysis of what sport is. I give special attention to the features that give some sports the status of games. I argue that a distinctive characteristic of these “game sports” is that they are internally driven—a concept I explain. I discuss “game sports” alongside three other kinds of sport—those I call nature sports, performance sports and measured sports. I discuss the distinctive appeal possessed by each of these different kinds of sport. I offer an (...) explanation for why game sports such as soccer, American football, tennis, baseball, cricket and rugby are the most popular spectator sports—why they have a special capacity to draw and hold our attention. It is central to my account of sport that it is autotelic—an activity pursued not for any instrumental purpose but for the pleasure of the activity itself. But this creates a puzzle: sport is often played professionally, raising the question of how an activity that is by nature pursued for its own sake can also be pursued for money? In explaining how the autotelic nature of sport is compatible with professionalism, I introduce the idea of sport as a socially defined activity. (shrink)

Somaesthetics and Sport (ed. Andrew Edgar, Brill, 2022) is a multifaceted collection of essays: Richard Shusterman’s theoretical framework is robust enough to lend unity to the volume, but it mostly functions as a springboard for the individual papers, never suffocating their theoretical explorations or making the book repetitive or a boring read. The ten essays also communicate with one another through certain recurring notions such as agency, somatic awareness, the Suitsian account of games or the interdisciplinary intertwining of philosophical (...) arguments with the results of sport psychology and physiology. Displaying the various ways Shusterman’s somaesthetics can be used to further the philosophical analysis of the aesthetic experience of watching and doing sports, the volume fills a gap in the scholarship of the aesthetics of sport as well as in the interdisciplinary field of somaesthetics. (shrink)

This chapter considers possible implications of enhancement use for sport’s spiritual dimension. I ask how enhancements might affect sport’s spirituality that is manifested in hope. Values and intentionality emerge as central; if winning at-any-cost is the most important value in sport, then whatever improves the chances of winning is perceived as enhancing and desirable. Enhancements amplify normative values. If we fail socially to investigate our values and to be intentional about what is important to us collectively, then (...) we risk amplifying implicit normative values and minimizing marginalized values. The discovery of the sacred in sport has not been well recognized or understood. This neglect has meant a failure to consider how enhancements might affect sport’s spirituality, leading to the possibility that sport’s sacred qualities may be compromised in our quest to win. (shrink)

Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit sportlichen Gefühlen im Sinne von Gefühlen, die mit dem Sport verbunden sein können. In den Beschreibungen sportlicher Ereignisse spielen Gefühle immer wieder eine herausragende Rolle. Gefühle werden den Zuschauern sportlicher Ereignisse zugeschrieben, wie auch den Akteuren solcher Ereignisse. Nach allgemeineren Überlegungen zu Gefühlen und zum Sport geht es um mit dem Sport häufig verbundene, aber für ihn unspezifische Gefühle. Zu denken ist an Freude und Ärger, Achtung, Scham oder Stolz. Es wird die (...) Frage diskutiert, ob es auch Gefühle gibt, die sich ganz spezifisch im Zusammenhang mit der Ausübung von Sport einstellen. (shrink)