A Philosopher Looks at Sport

154 Pages·2021·0.939 MB·English

by  Stephen Mumford

A PHILOSOPHER LOOKS AT SPORT
Why is sport so important among participants and spectators
whenitsgoalsseemsopointless?StephenMumford’sbookintro-
ducesthereadertoahostofphilosophicaltopicsfoundinsport,
and argues that sports activities reflect diverse human experi-
ences – including important values that we continue to contest.
The author explores physicality, competition, how sport is best
defined, ethics in sport and issues of inclusion such as disability
sports, the gender divide and transgender athletes. His book is
written for anyone who is thoughtful, a sports enthusiast, or
both, and will deepen our understanding of sport and its place
inourlives.Thisnewseriesoffersshortandpersonalperspectives
by expert thinkers on topics that we all encounter in our
everyday lives.
stephen mumford is Professor of Metaphysics at Durham
University. He is the author of numerous books, including
Watching Sport: Aesthetics, Ethics and Emotion (2011),
Metaphysics: A Very Short Introduction (2012), and Football: The
PhilosophyBehindtheGame(2019).

APhilosopherLooksat
Inthisseries,philosophersofferapersonalandphilosophical
explorationofatopicofgeneralinterest.
Booksintheseries
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PaulGuyer,APhilosopherLooksatArchitecture
StephenMumford,APhilosopherLooksatSport
MichaelRuse,APhilosopherLooksatHumanBeings

A PHILOSOPHER LOOKS AT
SPORT
STEPHEN MUMFORD
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108994934
doi:10.1017/9781108992961
©StephenMumford2021
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Firstpublished2021
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isbn 978-1-108-99493-4Paperback
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contents
Preface pageix
1 Physicality 1
2 Competition 23
3 Definition 44
4 Spectacle 66
5 Ethics 87
6 Inclusion 110
FurtherReading 134
Index 138
vii