Sport, Philosophy, and Good Lives
Sport, Philosophy, and Good Lives

Author: Randolph Feezell

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2020-04-01

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1496211480

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There's more to sports than the ethos of competition, entertainment, and commercialism expressed in popular media and discourse. Sport, Philosophy, and Good Lives discusses sport in the context of several traditional philosophical questions, including: What is a good human life and how does sport factor into it? To whom do we look for ethical guidance? What makes human activities or projects meaningful? Randolph Feezell examines these questions along with other relevant topics in the philosophy of sport such as the contribution of play to a meaningful life, the various reasons for pessimistic views of sport, the various claims that celebrated athletes are role models, and the seldom-questioned view that coaches are in a position to offer advice to athletes on how to live or on leadership skills. He also discusses the way that non-Western attitudes found in Buddhism, Taoism, and the Bhagavad Gita might be used to address the vulnerabilities of sports participants. Feezell draws from current sports issues, popular literature, and contemporary sports figures to shed light on the attraction and value of sports and examine the accompanying ethical issues.

Sport Philosophy Now
Sport Philosophy Now

Author: Matthew James McNees

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2015-12-24

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1442260661

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In today’s media-driven world, it seems there is always a scandal in the news involving athletes. Whether it’s performance-enhancing drugs in cycling, domestic violence in football, or sexual assault in college athletics, new problems pop up as soon as old issues disappear. As we struggle to understand and, hopefully, correct these problems, we face the difficult reality that the lines between fact and fiction are often blurred by the media, and sports governing bodies can be slow to make the necessary changes in their respective fields. In Sport Philosophy Now: The Culture of Sports after the Lance Armstrong Scandal, Matthew James McNees scrutinizes the current sports philosophy available and updates it in the “post-Lance Armstrong” age. While many philosophers have turned a blind eye to the realities of sport by focusing on ideologically-driven abstract ideals, this book offers an engaging alternative. Examining the field primarily through the competitive world of cycling, McNees explores such issues as authenticity in sport, our tendency to create superficial high-minded meaning from the actions of athletes, and American capitalism in sports. Other issues discussed include childhood, play, language, and economics. This book critiques the field of sports philosophy from its beginning, offers a new paradigm for the field, explains journalistic mistakes specifically through the lens of the Lance Armstrong scandal, and sheds light on the mysteries of cycling’s milieu of governing bodies and influential parties. This book aims to inspire and support those who want to take up rigorous, worthwhile, and difficult questions in the field of sports philosophy. It will be of interest not only to scholars, but also to the cycling community and those who wish to learn more about the interactions between sports, culture, and philosophy.

The Ethics of Sports Fandom
The Ethics of Sports Fandom

Author: Adam Kadlac

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-12-23

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 100051210X

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Fans largely regard sports as an escapist pursuit—something that provides distraction from the cares and concerns of "real life." This book pushes back against a fully escapist account of sports fandom and argues that we should understand the value of fandom in terms of the ability of sports to prompt fans to reflect meaningfully on the notion of a good life. Even if we are not engaged in high-level athletics, it is possible to learn a great deal from those who are: what sacrifices are required to achieve our goals; how to persevere through failure and disappointment; and about teamwork and the rewards of accomplishing things together. Moreover, partisan fandom, which has been criticized from various quarters, can teach us valuable lessons about love and what it means to be invested in things over which we have no control. If our reflection on the efforts of individual athletes helps us reflect on our own pursuit of the good life, our attachments to teams can help us to cultivate a certain kind of humility and openness to all that life has to offer. The Ethics of Sports Fandom is an accessible resource for researchers and students interested in the ethics and philosophy of sport that offers an analysis of several different aspects of contemporary fandom: fantasy sports, the ways that fans interact with athletes on social media, violent sports, women’s sports, and the support for our countries’ national teams. In all these areas, reflecting on what it means to respect athletes as individual human beings engaged in their own pursuit of the good life requires that fans consider their sports-related behavior in a new light.

Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport
Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport

Author: Mike McNamee

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-05

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 1134119143

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The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport is a landmark publication in sport studies. It goes further than any book has before in tracing the contours of the discipline of the philosophy of sport and in surveying the core themes, approaches and theories that form its disciplinary fabric. The book explores the ways in which an understanding of philosophy can inform our understanding of important prevailing issues in sport. Edited by two of the most significant figures in the development of the philosophy of sport, Mike McNamee and Bill Morgan, and with contributions from many of the world’s leading sport philosophers, this is an invaluable companion reference volume for any course in the social scientific study of sport, and an essential addition to the bookshelf of any serious scholar of the philosophy and/or ethics of sport.

Playing Games
Playing Games

Author: Randolph Feezell

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-10-26

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1317423194

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What is sport? Why does sport matter? How can we use philosophy to understand what sport means today? This engaging and highly original introduction to the philosophy of sport uses dialogue – a form of philosophical investigation – to address the fundamental questions in sport studies and to explore key contemporary issues such as fair play, gender, drug use, cheating, entertainment and identity. Providing a clear, informative and accessible introduction to the philosophy of sport, every chapter includes current sporting examples as well as review questions and guides to further reading. The dialogue form enables students to engage in debate and raise questions, while encouraging them to think from the perspectives of athlete, coach, spectator and philosopher. The issues raised present real and complex ethical dilemmas that relate to a variety of sports from around the world such as soccer, athletics, baseball, basketball, hockey and tennis. No other book brings this rich subject to life through the use of dialogue, making this an indispensable companion to any course on the philosophy or ethics of sport.

The Good Enough Life
The Good Enough Life

Author: Daniel Miller

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2023-11-08

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1509559663

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This book is a highly original exploration of what life could and should be. It juxtaposes a philosophical enquiry into the nature of the good life with an ethnography of people living in a small Irish town. Attending carefully to the everyday lives of these people, the ethnographic chapters examine topics ranging from freedom and inequality to the creation of community and the purpose of life. These chapters alternate with discussions of similar topics by a wide range of philosophers in the Western tradition, from Socrates and the Stoics through Kant, Hegel and Heidegger to Adorno, Rawls, MacIntyre and Nussbaum. As an ethnography, this is a book of praise that reveals just how much we can learn from a respectful acknowledgment of what ordinary modest people have achieved. By creating community as a deliberate and social project that provides the foundation for a more fulfilling life, where affluence has not led to an increase in individualism, the people in this town have found a way to live the good enough life. The book also shows how anthropology and philosophy can complement and enrich one another in an inquiry into what we might accomplish in our lives.

Towards a Sustainable Philosophy of Endurance Sport
Towards a Sustainable Philosophy of Endurance Sport

Author: Ron Welters

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-02-05

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 303005294X

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This book provides new perspectives on endurance sport and how it contributes to a good and sustainable life in times of climate change, ecological disruption and inconvenient truths. It builds on a continental philosophical tradition, i.e. the philosophy of among others Peter Sloterdijk, but also on “ecosophy” and American pragmatism to explore the idea of sport as a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles. Since ancient times, human beings have been involved in practices of the Self in order to work on themselves and improve themselves, for instance by strengthening their physical condition and performance through sport. In the contemporary world, millions of individuals engage in endurance sports such as running, swimming and cycling, to get or keep themselves in shape. This study focuses on the ethical dimension of long-distance sport, notably cycling, as a way to become better citizens, but also to contribute to a more sustainable society and healthier planet. Dominant world-views are challenged and an alternative vision is presented. Discourse analysis and conceptual analysis are combined with phenomenology and self-observations of a dedicated practitioner of endurance sport. This book is a great source for philosophers, sport philosophers, environmental philosophers, sport scientists, policy makers, sport journalists, and endurance sport practitioners.

A Liberal Theory of Practical Morality
A Liberal Theory of Practical Morality

Author: Earl Spurgin

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 1786612259

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Moral issues and questions abound in daily life. Media outlets frequently raise awareness of many, such as those concerning individuals’ right to privacy. The same venues seldom, if ever, raise awareness of others, such as moral issues and questions concerning our fantasies. Regardless of the level of publicity various venues afford particular moral matters, most people who become aware of those matters find many interesting and important. A problem most encounter, however, is determining the criteria through which they should approach the moral matters they wish to engage. Ethicists have long sought a moral theory that would provide the desired criteria, but most will grant readily that those efforts have not produced a generally-accepted theory. This book presents the author’s case that a kind of moral liberalism is the theory we should use to engage daily life’s moral matters. The author presents a conception of moral liberalism, argues that it is the best approach to practical morality in a plural society, and applies it to several of morality’s practical matters.

Religion and Transhumanism
Religion and Transhumanism

Author: Calvin Mercer

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2014-11-17

Total Pages: 473

ISBN-13: 1440833265

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Should technology be used to improve human faculties such as cognition and longevity? This thought-provoking dialogue between "transhumanism" and religion examines enhancement technologies that could radically alter the human species. "Transhumanism" or "human enhancement" is an intellectual and cultural movement that advocates the use of emerging technologies to change human traits. Although they may sound like science fiction, the possibilities suggested by transhumanism are very real, and the questions they raise have no easy answers. If these enhancements—especially major ones like the indefinite extension of healthy human life—become widely available, they would arguably have a more radical impact on humankind than any other development in history. This book comprises essays that explore transhumanism and the issues that surround it, addressing numerous fascinating questions posed by scholars of religion from various traditions. How will "immortality" or extreme longevity change our religious beliefs and practices? How might pharmaceuticals enhance spiritual experiences? Will "post-human" technologies be available to all persons, or will a superior "post-human race" arise to dominate the human species? The discussions are as intriguing as the future they suggest.

Philosophy of Sport
Philosophy of Sport

Author: Martin A. Bertman

Publisher: Humanities-Ebooks

Published:

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13:

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Introduction, Definition of Sport, Sub-Classes, Competition versus Rivalry: Greek Olympics and Roman Gladiators, Social Psychology, Aesthetic Psychology: Certainty, Identity, and Purpose, Sport as Symbol of Society and Character of Choice, Sport Ethics.