PHIL 200 2 - Philosophy of Sport

1.0

This course is an introduction to major themes in the philosophy of sport. The first part will take up the question of what sport is and how we might define it at the most basic conceptual level. Is a sport, perhaps like other games, to be defined wholly with respect to its rules? Must we appeal to conventions beyond rules to understand what a sport is? Are there any normative or ethical principles internal to sport and therefore necessary to a proper understanding of it? The second part will take up general normative questions that arise from our various attempts to understand sport. Can one intentionally break the rules and still be playing the sport? Is such conduct ever acceptable? What makes for a successful athletic contest? What significance does winning an athletic contest have? The third part will take up questions of identity and sport. Have women been excluded from the very idea of sport? What would greater gender or sex equality in sport involve? How have gender and race affected our understanding of sport? Can sport be a vehicle for social emancipation? In what ways should sport accommodate disabled or differently abled competitors?