In Defense of Philosophy of Sport

 

Some are skeptical that sport is worthy of the attention of philosophers. They may reject philosophyof sport because sport is an element of so-called “low” culture rather thanhigh culture.[1] Othersmay be concerned about the violence, anti-intellectualism, fascistoid hero worship,and morally problematic tribalism that can be found in sporting contexts. Andperhaps others simply find sport uninteresting as a context for doingphilosophy.

 However, there aremany reasons why sport merits the attention of philosophers.

First, many of the foregoing reasons for rejectingphilosophy of sport are examples of the type of reflection upon sport done bypeople working in the field. Philosophers of sport engage the morally andsocially troubling aspects of this realm of human life. Given the centrality ofsport across numerous cultures, philosophers can provide a useful and importantcorrective to the excesses of sport and sporting culture. Fortunately, however,there are more hopeful reasons for engaging in philosophy of sport related to itsmore positive aspects, including the numerous connections that exist betweenmorality and sport. I'll have more to say on this in a future post.

Second, philosophical work done in the context of sport isrelevant to other areas of philosophy. It can illuminate issues in metaethics,normative ethical theory, philosophy of law, biomedical ethics, and issuesrelated to race, gender, and social justice.[2]

Finally, moral philosophers should not only be concernedwith a conceptual analysis of morality, seeking to understand the sources ofour obligations, and elucidating a sound normative ethical theory. They should,in the tradition of Aristotle, also be concerned with becoming virtuous.Philosophical reflection upon sport and a philosophical approach to it can helpus understand and engage in the process of moral development via thecultivation of virtue in our sporting lives which we may then transfer to therest of our lives.

For those readers who are able to attend, this year's London Lectures at the Royal Institute of Philosophy all deal with philosophy of sport. And for those unable to attend, at some point videos will be made available at the website of the Institute.

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[1] For asustained argument against this view, see William J. Morgan, Why Sports Morally Matter (London:Routledge, 2006).

[2] Forexample, see Jan Boxill (ed.), SportsEthics: An Anthology Anthology (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003; WilliamMorgan, Ethics in Sport, 2d. ed.(Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2007).