Royal Institute of Philosophy: London Lectures on Philosophy of Sport

During 2011-2012, the London Lectures sponsored by The Royal Institute of Philosophy were on the topic of the philosophy of sport.

Many of these are now available on video at the RIP's website, with more to come.

Nationality, Eligibility and British Wrestling

Readers might be interested in an article in The Guardian on the controversy surrounding Eastern European wrestlers who have been fast tracked into competing for GB in the forthcoming Olympics.

British Wrestling's chairman, Malcolm Morley said, "The only countries with a wealth of talent are the eastern bloc countries. Some of the athletes we brought over wanted to compete in international competition. The only way they could do so was to transfer allegiance to Great Britain. Who can stop them living their dream? We've got to do the best for our sport at the end of the day."

Whilst The Guardian's Owain Gibson notes, "The debate cuts to the heart of issues around Britain's medal hopes and how they are funded, while embracing emotive questions of national identity and sporting fairness."

Temperance and Sport

A recent article at the New York Times discusses temperance in the context of sport. Here is the intro to the article, which is very short:

IF only I had read Plato.

That’s what I thought when I saw my MRI: 28 images, impossible to deny, of a torn rotator cuff muscle — a consequence of years of weightlifting. And that’s just my shoulder. May I present C4, C5 and C6 (my herniated discs), my plantar fasciitis, my patellar tendinitis — residual damage done to a body, now 51, in the name of exercise, in pursuit of being buff.

Plato could have warned me. In “The Republic,” he advises “temperance” in physical training, likening it to learning music and poetry. Keep it “simple and flexible,” as in all things, don’t overdo. Follow this course, and you will remain “independent of medicine in all but extreme cases.”

There are many interesting issues here, but I'm reminded of an ultrarunner in the Boulder area from my grad school days who would pop large amounts of ibuprofen before a race because of the pain and damage done to his body. This is risky, if memory serves. Speaking from the philosopher's armchair, I believe that there are some similar non-temperate traits at work in people devoted to philosophy and physical exercise/sport. A similar "obsessive-ness" can be at work in both pursuits. I speak from experience here.

With respect to sport, there is wisdom in a temperate approach. I don't think it is always easy to determine when one's participation in sport exceeds what might be thought of as temperate. There are clear cases, of course, but others that are not so clear. Some may think ultrarunning is a case of intemperance, but I would argue that this is not necessarily so. I recall many ultrarunners who argued that even if it was bad for their bodies over the long haul, or even if it took years off of their lives, they would prefer to engage in the sport while possible because of the quality of life that this yielded for them. And I can understand this sentiment. I no longer have aspirations to run an ultramarathon because of back surgery several years ago, but I would like to do a century on my road bike in the next few years.

Ultimately, whether or not one is taking a temperate approach to sport will not only depend upon the physical impact, but upon one's other commitments in life as well. Some phases of life or forms of life allow one more freedom than others. I couldn't train for an ultra right now even if I wanted to and maintain my family, work and other commitments in a satisfactory manner. Others can. This is consistent with Aristotle's views about virtue and the mean, as he argues that the mean will vary given the particular circumstances of one's life. The lesson, perhaps, is to reflect upon the role sport is playing (and should play) in one's life, and to make whatever changes are appropriate.

Sport and Artificial Intelligence

Some UK viewers might have seen the recent BBC Horizon programme on Artificial Intelligence which was a remarkable account of the current abilities of cutting edge computers. However, despite computers having surpassed human ability in many areas (memory, calculations, even general knowledge of trivia) they struggle in many areas where humans excel including the ability to learn new skills - particularly that of kinaesthetic skill development. The programme's presenter, Marcus Du Sautoy, demonstrated how he was able to learn the new skill of balancing across a tightrope with an ease which a machine would find nigh on impossible if they had a body equivalent to ours. This thought led me to a quick online search which produced the 2012 robot football cup which shows you how far machines have to go with being as graceful and skillful as a human player. Nevertheless, even if machines were developed to play football with the same skill as a human, the question remains whether they would have any interest in doing so - what would they need in order to hold the lusory attitude that is so vital in sport?

2012 IAPS Conference - Call for Papers

http://www.iaps.net

The International Association for the Philosophy of Sport invites the submission of abstracts to be considered for presentation at the 40th annual 2011 IAPS meeting. The conference will be held September 12-15, 2012 in Porto, Portugal.

Abstracts are welcome on any area of philosophy of sport, including metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, and ethics, and from any theoretical approach, including analytic philosophy and critical theory. While IAPS recognizes, values, and encourages interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies, acceptance is contingent on the philosophical content of the project. Emerging scholars are encouraged to submit works in progress.

A Program Committee of three IAPS peers will review abstracts. Contributors will be notified about the status of their abstracts by May 14, 2012

Proposals for round table and panel discussions, including a tentative list of participants, are also welcome and should follow the same format as paper abstracts.


R. SCOTT KRETCHMAR STUDENT ESSAY AWARD

IAPS is proud to announce the “R. Scott Kretchmar Student Essay Award.” Interested undergraduate and graduate students should submit a full paper by June 15, 2012 (in addition to an abstract, see below).  A separate announcement is posted at theIAPS website <http://iaps.net/conference/> .

GUIDELINES
Abstracts should be 300-500 words long, in English, and must be received by April 2, 2012. Please, follow the following instructions (incomplete proposals will be returned).  Provide:

1. Name, E-mail, current position, and employer
2. Title of Program
3. Key Words (three to five)
4. Primary Content Area/s (choose no more than 2)
   

1. Ethics                                    d.   Epistemology                        g.   Applied
2. Metaphysics                          e.   Phenomenology                     h.   History
3. Aesthetics                             f.   Comparative                            i.   Other (explain)
   

           

1. Indicate special Audio-Visual requirements (computer & projector will be provided)
   

The preferred mode of submission is by e-mail.

Please send the abstract blind-review ready as an attachment, preferably in Word, to the Conference Chair at:jilunda@linfield.edu <mailto:jilunda@linfield.edu>

Contributors who lack access to e-mail may send a hard copy instead to the following address:

           Jesús Ilundáin-Agurruza
           IAPS Conference Chair
          Associate Professor of Philosophy
           Linfield College
           900 SE Baker St., Unit 580
           McMinnville, OR 97128 (USA)

Youth Soccer: Club or School?

In order to improve international competitiveness the United States Soccer Federation has decided to modify the club team system in a way that prevents young athletes from playing for their high school teams.  According to a recent N.Y. Times article, this decision has caused some controversy, not least because it highlights a conflict in youth sports between the priorities of athletic and educational development.  The club teams claim that they are at least as committed to players’ education as the schools are. 

Is there any special educational benefit to playing sports on school teams as opposed to club teams?   One may be the experience of representing one’s school and local community. Although college and professional players rarely hail from the places they play for, high school athletes generally do and, as H.G. Bissinger’s great book Friday Night Lights illustrates, participation in these teams makes youngsters aware of their membership in and responsibility to local communities.  Though Bissinger’s book is about football in Texas, the experience of other high school athletes contains similar lessons—albeit on a less intense scale.

To be sure, many (if not most) young athletes are motivated by dreams of professional and international play.  They are willing to sacrifice the chance to represent their schools, in the hopes of someday representing their country.  But there is an extremely small probability that their professional dreams will be realized.  Youth sports need to offer some additional benefit to the overwhelming majority of young athletes they serve.  This is true even of development clubs sponsored by pro teams and national federations.  The question is whether the more-focused club system in fact has educational benefits equivalent or superior to those of high-school teams—or are they selling out the masses in order to feed the professional leagues?

by Heather Reid

Brooks on "The Jeremy Lin Problem"

David Brooks has a thoughtful essay in today's New York Times about Jeremy Lin and religion. An excerpt:

For many religious teachers, humility is the primary virtue. You achieve loftiness of spirit by performing the most menial services. (That’s why shepherds are perpetually becoming kings in the Bible.) You achieve your identity through self-effacement. You achieve strength by acknowledging your weaknesses. You lead most boldly when you consider yourself an instrument of a larger cause.

The most perceptive athletes have always tried to wrestle with this conflict. Sports history is littered with odd quotations from people who try to reconcile their love of sport with their religious creed — and fail.

Jeremy Lin has wrestled with this tension quite openly. In a 2010 interview with the Web site Patheos, Lin recalled, “I wanted to do well for myself and my team. How can I possibly give that up and play selflessly for God?”

Lin says in that interview that he has learned not to obsess about stats and championships. He continues, “I’m not working hard and practicing day in and day out so that I can please other people. My audience is God. ... The right way to play is not for others and not for myself, but for God. I still don’t fully understand what that means; I struggle with these things every game, every day. I’m still learning to be selfless and submit myself to God and give up my game to Him.”

The odds are that Lin will never figure it out because the two moral universes are not reconcilable. Our best teacher on these matters is Joseph Soloveitchik, the great Jewish theologian. In his essays “The Lonely Man of Faith” and “Majesty and Humility” he argues that people have two natures. First, there is “Adam the First,” the part of us that creates, discovers, competes and is involved in building the world. Then, there is “Adam the Second,” the spiritual individual who is awed and humbled by the universe as a spectator and a worshipper.

I would love to hear reactions to Brooks's discussion of the "Jeremy Lin Problem."