In Defense of Philosophy of Sport
Some are skeptical that sport is worthy of the attention of philosophers. They may reject philosophy of sport because sport is an element of so-called “low” culture rather than high culture. [1] Others may be concerned about the violence, anti-intellectualism, fascistoid hero worship, and morally problematic tribalism that can be found in sporting contexts. And perhaps others simply find sport uninteresting as a context for doing philosophy. However, there are many reasons why sport merits the attention of philosophers. First, many of the foregoing reasons for rejecting philosophy of sport are examples of the type of reflection upon sport done by people working in the field. Philosophers of sport engage the morally and socially troubling aspects of this realm of human life. Given the centrality of sport across numerous cultures, philosophers can provide a useful and important corrective to the excesses of sport and sporting culture. Fortunately, however, there are more ho...