Philosophic Inquiry in Sport

The aim of this work is to present an anthology devoted to the philosophy of sport covering classic and recent literature. The intended audience is undergraduate and graduate students and scholars interested in sport in general. There are six parts: (1) "The Nature of Sport, Play, and Game" (8 chapters); (2) "Sport and Embodiment" (9 chapters); (3) "Sport, Play, and Metaphysics" (6 chapters); (4) "Sport and Ethics" [This part is subdivided into "Competition, Sportsmanship, Cheating, and Failure" (9 chapters); "Drugs and Sport" (5 chapters); and "Women and Sports" (6 chapters)]; (5) "Sport and Social-Political Philosophy" (6 chapters); and (6) "Sport and Aesthetics" (8 chapters). Each section has its own bibliography.

[As an avid reader of the philosophy of sport, I find it quite relevant to any interest in parapsychology. In both parapsychology and sport the primary goal is to transcend physical limits. Moreover, ESP and PK tests, both informal and formal, can be classed in a game paradigm and some of them have been deliberately devised as games or forms of competition. In this connection, the chapters in Parts II and III are especially relevant. In PK, the analogy between parapsychology and sport is more apt. It is my guess that at the limits of human possibility where new records are set wherein humans transcend all previous limits and are the first to do so some form of psi may be involved, though it is not possible to separate it from the many physical, physiological, psychological, social, and even sociological factors involved. For these reasons this book provides a very useful introduction to the philosophy of sport.]