Pragmatism and the Philosophy of Sport

Edited by John Kaag, Douglas Anderson, Richard Lally

Publication date:

08 November 2012

Length of book:

200 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739178409

Pragmatism and the Philosophy of Sport explores the philosophical significance of sport – the phenomenological experience, the training, coaching, and the competition – from a uniquely pragmatic angle of vision. The philosophical insights of John Dewey, William James, C.S. Peirce, Jane Addams, and Josiah Royce shed new light on the meaning of the physical practices that take place on our soccer fields, national arenas, backyards, and playgrounds. Interestingly, a close examination of these contemporary practices allows us to understand a wide array of ethical, epistemological and metaphysical commitments that the American pragmatic tradition has articulated for more than a century. Pragmatism’s insistence that truth be embodied in the practical consequences of everyday life, its balancing of communal and individual purposes, its emphasis on the role of chance and spontaneity in experience — resonate with the findings of modern kinesiology and sport science.

About the Cover Photo
Introduction: Pragmatism and the Seasoned Practitioner — Richard Lally
Chapter 1: Process and the Sport Experience—Douglas R. Hochstetler
Chapter 2: Peircean Reflections on the Personality of a Fútbol Club—Daniel Campos
Chapter 3: Paddling in the Stream of Consciousness—John Kaag
Chapter 4: Running in Place: Significance on the Treadmill?—Doug Hochstetler
Chapter 5: Where Should LeBron’s Loyalty Lie? Where Should Ours?—Mathew A. Foust
Chapter 6: Agapastic Coaching—Tim Elcombe
Chapter 7: Gender, Sports and the Ethics of Teammates—Brent Crouch
Chapter 8: Dick Butkus, Pragmatism, and Performance Art—Douglas Anderson
Chapter 9: Towards a Somatic Sport Feminism—Joan Grassbaugh Forry
Chapter 10: Living the Injury—Jill Tracey
Chapter 11: Deweyan Pragmatism and Self-Cultivation—Richard Lally

Pragmatism and the Philosophy of Sport argues quite successfully for what every athlete and pragmatist must know: that through the lived embodied experience of sport, we can find the validity in our own higher truths. The authors, each a practicing athlete/philosopher, cultivate a theoretical landscape of accessible philosophy through the framing of applied sports experiences. For the student of philosophy or the introspective athlete, this text is an honest, enlightening, and pleasure full romp through the 'practical consequences' of thinking about how and why we play these games.