What is the Philosophy of Sport?

A cursory glance at the daily sports news highlights perennial philosophical and ethical issues in sport: drug taking, cheating, corruption, discrimination and violence, amongst many others. Indeed, the hot topics on the day of writing include: a criminal investigation into corruption within a high profile sport Governing body, concern over the effects of concussion in contact sport, a judicial challenge on whether a card game should be classified as a sport, officials banned for match fixing, further discussion about the introduction of goal-line technology, and ongoing lamentation by politicians on the low profile of women’s sport. We are confronted with philosophical and ethical issues in sport on a daily basis and they regularly form heated arguments between aficionados everywhere. Sport is a large part of modern life. The issues that sport raises are even larger. And nearly everyone has an opinion.\ud Many of those interested in these types of issues and discussions have not been explicitly introduced to philosophic methods or to the philosophy of sport as a distinct academic subject. Yet when these debates occur in the pub, on the terraces or in the media, those involved are engaging in a philosophical discussion about the meaning and value of sport and the concepts related to it.\ud This chapter aims to provide an overview to the uninitiated as to the development and history of the philosophy of sport, the types of questions raised, and the methods used to answer them. It will demonstrate that what many people do naturally when they discuss sporting issues is essentially philosophy; but it will also highlight where and how philosophy is done badly and how philosophical arguments and skills can be improved