Sport, Play, and Ethical Reflection

Feezell, Randolph M.

ISBN 10: 0252029550 / ISBN 13: 9780252029554

Published by Univ of Illinois Pr, Urbana, 2004

About this Item

2004, hard cover, slight edgewear, pencil highlighting on several pages, d.j. has slight edgewear, 173 p. Seller Inventory # 53848

Bibliographic Details

Title: Sport, Play, and Ethical Reflection

Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr, Urbana

Publication Date: 2004

Binding: Hardcover

Book Condition: Good-

Dust Jacket Condition: Good-

Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis:

A philosophical analysis of the nature, attraction, and limits of sport

Book Description:

 

A philosophical analysis of the nature, attraction, and limits of sport

Randolph Feezell's Sport, Play, and Ethical Reflection immediately tackles two big questions about sport: "What is it?" and "Why does it attract so many people?" He argues that sports participation is best described as a form of human play, and the attraction for participants and viewers alike derives from both to its aesthetic richness and narrative structure. He then claims that the way in which sports encourage serious competition in trivial pursuits is fundamentally absurd, and therefore participation requires a state of irony in the participants, where seriousness and playfulness are combined.

Feezell builds on these conclusions, addressing important ethical issues, arguing that sportsmanship should be seen as a kind of Aristotelian mean between the extremes of over and under investment in sport. Chapters on cheating, running up the score, and character-building stress sport as a rule-governed, tradition-bound practice with standards of excellence and goods internal to the practice. With clear writing and numerous illuminating examples, Feezell demonstrates deep insight into both of his subjects.