Fairness, Dignity, and Beauty in Sport
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.33132Keywords:
Sports, dignity, beauty, fairnessAbstract
Fairness is a normative ideal that runs through sports. After all, what defines our cultural evolution in general is a conception of morality, whether thought of in the context of the state, tribe, team, or individual. Human dignity is also one of the important features of sport. Sport is reality for the better part of our nature. We find inspiration for the meaning of life in sport; dignity, social contact, rising to show the “better angel” overcoming adversity, managing defeat, the wondrous sense of well-earned and arduous victory, graciousness toward others in their defeat. While human dignity and solidarity are particularly expressed in the context of the Special Olympics, adaptation, well-being, and the role of sport are important elements in the context of all sporting events. Sport remains timeless while being a lifelong activity for many.
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Dewey, J. 1960 [1908]. Theory of Moral Life. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
———. 1989 [1925]. Experience and Nature. LaSale, Ill.: Open Court. Dewey, J. 1958 [1934]. Art as Experience. New York: Capricorn.
Diamond, J. 1997. Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York: Norton.
Dobzhansky, T. C. 1962. Mankind Evolving. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Dunbar, R. I. M. 1992. “Neocortex Size as a Constraint on Group Size in Primates.”
Journal of Human Evolution 22: 469–493.
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Gold, J., and M. Gold. 2007. “Access for All: The Rise of the Paralympic Games.” Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 127: 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466424007077348
Guttmann, A. 1978. From Ritual to Record. New York: Columbia University Press.
———. 1991. Women’s Sports: A History. New York: Columbia University Press.
———. 1992. The Olympics: History of the Modern Games. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.
Haidt, J. 2007. “The New Synthesis in Moral Psychology.” Science 316: 998–1002. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1137651
Jackson, J. H. 1958 [1884]. “Evolution and Dissolution of the Nervous System.” In Selected Writings of John Hughlings Jackson. London: Staples.
Jaspers, K. 1997 [1913]. General Psychopathology. Translated by J. Hoenig and M. W. Hamilton. Baltimore, MD.: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kant, I. 1965 [1787]. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by L. W. Beck. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
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Kersey, R., . 2012. “National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids.” Journal of Athletic Training 47: 567–588. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-47.5.08
Mandell, R. 1999 [1984]. Sport: A Cultural History. New York: Columbia Univer- sity Press.
Newkirk, P. 2009. Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Penga. New York: Harper Collins.
Passmore, J., and C. Gibbes. 2007. “The State of Executive Coaching Research: What Does the Current Literature Tell Us and What’s Next for Coaching Research?” International Coaching Psychology Review 2(2): 116–128.
Payne, M. 2015. “The Artificial Turf at the Women’s World Cup Was Reportedly 120 Degrees at Kick Off.” Washington Post. June 6.
Pickford, G., and E. Strecker. 1977. “The Spawning Reflex Response of the Killifish Fundulus heteroclitus; Isotocin Is Relatively Inactive in Comparison with Arginine Vasotocin.” General and Comparative Endocrinology 32: 132–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-6480(77)90143-5
Rampersad, A. 1998. Jackie Robinson: A Biography. New York: Ballantine. Rawls, J. 1971. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Sacks, O. 2015. On the Move: A Life. New York: Knopf.
Sanghani, R. 2015. “Muslim Gymnast Criticized for ‘Revealing’ Leotard as She Wins Double-Gold.” Telegraph. June 18.
Smith, A. 1817 [1759]. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Boston, MA: Wells and Lilly.
Stelter, R. 2007. “Coaching: A Process of Personal and Social Meaning Making.” International Coaching Psychology 2: 191–212.
Whitehead, A. N. 1958 [1929]. The Function of Reason. Boston, MA: Beacon.
———. 1967 [1938]. Modes of Thought. New York: Free Press.
Wittgenstein, L. 1968 [1953]. Philosophical Investigations. New York: MacMillan.
Wood, R., and S. Stanton. 2012. “Testosterone and Sport: Current Perspectives.” Hormones and Behavior 61: 147–155.
Published
2017-05-04
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Schulkin, J. (2017). Fairness, Dignity, and Beauty in Sport. Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism, 25(1), 97-115. https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.33132
